Malabar Indian Store

They carry decent amount of items needed for Indian cooking — rice, dal, flour, spices, frozen items … Although I would like to see more items. The newer location (right across from the old one) is arranged nicely and usually you should find everything, although the prices are a little marked up. But that is the price of convenience. Wish they carried more fresh veggies. Although Folsom now has couple of more Indian grocery stores, this is our go-​to store for everything at least now.

If there is an option to give no stars, I would do that. The owners are very rude and not helpful at all. They got in someone to help and she is just the same. There was a time when this was the only store in town. I hope the owners realize that and change their attitude.

India away from India. My momma comes here all the time for authentic ingredients for her authentic cooking. Great selection of Indian snacks, ethnic vegetables (unlike what other people have said), legumes, spices, rice, and a small selection of festive/​religious items. Friendly and homely staff — if you ask them a question they are very responsive. In my opinion, better than any bay area store!

Visited this place for guava my wife’s favorite fruit when we visited our friends in Folsom area.
A good place for Indian grocery shopping more for spices, nuts, frozen indian food items, dry foods, and other items.
Prices are reasonable given it location in Folsom which is more East of Bay Area. The store is clean and organized. The items are fresh.
4 vs 5 star due to less vegetable section. Also, not too much options on Indian snack items.
Bottom line if you live in Folsom this is good place to shop for Indian grocery.

Watch out for the 10 $ minimum.
I completely concur with what Bob D has written.
50 cents service fee, What next? Do we even pay part of their income tax next ??

We visited this store this weekend to buy groceries for our home. They have got a decent collection of Indian grocery items. We bought a lot of items. But the 2 stars is driven by the quality of the Basmati Rice. Our requirement was for a smaller quantity. The store carried only 10lb bags of any branded Basmati Rice. Alternatively they had an unbranded one for 5 lbs. We were very hesitant to buy them in the first place. But the lady at the counter assured us that it is of a good quality. We trusted her words & ended up buying this store packaged item with just a sticker indicating the price. We came home & as soon as we opened the bag, we knew we had been taken for a ride. The aroma that usually comes from Basmati Rice was totally absent & the rice quality was poor to say the least. It was just plain rice disguised as Basmati & sold. The rest of the items we bought were of a good quality. But i dont think i will go to this store again.

Worst customer service. They started yelling at me. I would not recommend this place to anyone

If possible would give ZERO star to this store. Extremely rude owner very unprofessional I could not believe I was in US. dont shop here you will regret!

Malabar is my family’s go-​to place for anything Indian! We have had lots of great luck finding spices, grains, vegetables, and almost any ingredient for our Indian cooking adventures at home. Why pay double by going to the local Indian restaurant when you can make a lot of the main dishes at home?
We love their paneer (go to the refrigerated section) and their frozen naan. Also love all their spices and how they organize things! Rice is located on the left side when you walk in. Very much a small market with dry goods but you can also find veggies and frozen items in the back.
Customer service is good; but don’t expect a Whole Foods customer service representative. Love coming here and the smells are delicious!

I’ve been holding a grudge against this place for a while, because the first time I came in, I was looking for a spice for a navratan korma recipe that I had flirted away from a cook at an Indian restaurant– and I was told, «We don’t have that spice, it’s Persian.» I was pretty sure it wasn’t Persian, because it didn’t involve packing up ground beef and serving it with six cups of rice (my thoughts on Persian food)… The American name of the spice turned out to be fennel, which is of course common enough that I ended up getting it at Raley’s. I was just embarrassed by the way the owner had grabbed my recipe from my hands, laughed out loud, and said in a condescending laughing voice, «This is Persian.» Although she is technically correct that the linguistic roots of the word «korma» are Persian (and I highly doubt that’s what she meant), the recipe is definitely Indian.
ANYWAYS. They moved buildings, and I always consider this a valid reason to give someone a second chance. I came in with my daughter, and neither of the workers said anything to us, although there was no one else in the store, and we spent a great deal of time walking around. «Mommy, what’s this? What’s this? What are mango leaves? What’s an eggplant? I think it’s just a giant plum.» My daughter asked me if she could have some cookies, and I said yes, but the first several packages we picked up had expired in January. And, just to clarify, I didn’t mix up packaging dates with expiration dates or anything like that– they had been manufactured in 2013, and expired this past January.
So, I guess when Malabar changed locations, they took their out-​of-​code product with them. That’s pretty sketchy.
Still, I ended up letting her get some cookies (once we found some that weren’t expired), and I got a package of tamarind candy with no date (because my middle name is Danger, apparently). I’m not going to blame them for how bad the tamarind turned out to be, but with such bad customer service and poor quality control, I see no reason to come back.

The spice section is very complete. Same for the beans and legumes. The owner is very helpful and friendly. If you like Indian foods and need a place to purchase ingredients, this place cannot be beaten!

Be aware that if you charge less than $ 10.00 of food purchase on a debt card, they will impose a .50c service fee. This practice is highly unethical. So if you are purchasing a small item of valued $ 1.79, and you want to use a debt card, that purchase will cost you 28% more in illegal service fees. Also, look at the expiration date of the canned goods or packaged item before you purchase those items with an expired shelf-​life. Otherwise, the store has a good supply of Indian food products.

The prices are reasonable and customer service is fantastic. There’s another place in folsom that sells indian groceries but don’t waste your time there. Malabar is the place to shop.

Total secret that more people should know about. Their spice selection is great, we can always find what we are looking for and low prices. They also have great prices on every day items. Very friendly staff.