RAVI SHUKLA IS A MAN WHO CATERS TO MANY TASTES. Some customers pop into his KJ Mini Mart to grab cigarettes, beer, and maybe a bag of chips. Others linger, moving through aisles compact with basmati rice, chutneys, and curry pastes. Shukla’s store — in an odd corner of a funky strip mall with a Chinese restaurant neighbor — is a hidden surprise.

In big cities, ethnic commerce is well delineated within a district. But, in Reno, ethnic markets are scattered all over town. An exception is Wells Avenue where several Hispanic markets have sprouted up in recent years. But even here are surprises, such as the Indo-Asian market on Second Street and Wells Avenue and Irma’s Filipino Store just off Wells Avenue on Mill Street.

Whatever the location, the good news is Reno’s international market basket has expanded. For Reno cooks, who travel the world in their kitchens, those uncommon ingredients — common somewhere else in the world — now are available.

AROMATIC SPICE

Backtracking to kJ Mini Mart, you’ll find the ingredients for India’s dishes. Lining the shelves are such staples as lentils, split peas, and dried beans, and the soul of Indian cuisine, aromatic spices. Other essentials include chickpea flour, corn oil, ghee (clarified butter), asafetida (a flavor enhancer with a strong odor — culinary master James Beard compared it to the smell of truffles), and jaggery, a raw, lump cane sugar.

The freezer case contains naan, samosa, pre-made curries, and Indian vegetables. Fresh ginger, Indian eggplant, and other greens keep company in the refrigerator. Shukla or his wife will help you if you feel lost: “I always suggest you bring in your recipe,” said Shukla, “so I can advise you correctly.”

FRESH PRODUCE

Blocks away from kJ Mini Mart, on Wells Avenue, you’ll find Latino products. Several Hispanic markets dot this street but the largest is Mercadito Latino. With its excellent selection of fresh produce and its variety of dried chilies, sold in bulk, it’s a good place to start. Avocados, tomatoes, an array of fresh chilies, Mexican papaya, and cactus paddles are just a sample of produce selling at good prices. Nopales (cactus paddles in Spanish) are hugely popular in Mexico — and a big seller at the store, says owner Adolfo Sanchez. “We cater mainly to a Latin trade, carrying the products they use,” said Sanchez. Which means whatever ingredients for which your recipe calls, it is most likely here. English-speaking help is spotty, but armed with your grocery list and a few Spanish 101 words, you’ll do fine.

HISPANIC MEATS

For meats specially cut for Mexican cooking, head for Carniceria Dos Amigos II. You’ll find beef cut for carne asada (grilled meat) in thinly sliced strips no thicker than one-fourth inch. You’ll also find pork ribs cut into two-inch portions, used to make savory stews, impeccably fresh tripe for menudo and fresh lard for tamale making. Quail, a typical game bird in Mexico, is sold here, too. Besides meat, the carniceria carries other essentials of Mexican cooking, such as dried chilies and beans. It also has a small produce area.

VAST SELECTION

As for Asian markets, the super-sized Reno Asian Supermarket and International Market cover your needs. Both carry an unbelievable inventory of Asian products: noodles, rice, sauces, pastes, and pickled everything. Fresh and frozen fish and shellfish, dried mushrooms, dried shrimp, goat meat, pork-belly skin. Fresh produce from bok choy to bitter melon, lotus-root to long beans. Without a shopping list, you can easily get sidetracked in exotica.

At International Market, whose inventory also includes Pacific Rim and Latino products, ask owner Udomporn Parhubarn to help you when you’re perplexed. She’s the one at the cash register, her spot since the store opened 20 years ago. At Reno Asian Supermarket, the staff also is helpful in leading you to that mysterious ingredient you need.

RUSSIAN DELICACIES

One last stop: the Moscow Market and Deli. The inventory, not exclusively Russian, includes products from Israel, the Baltic countries, and Europe. The deli offers a variety of sausages, ham, and Russian bologna, fresh sauerkraut, caviar, and chicken liver pate. Pickled vegetables, Russian teas, and chocolates line the orderly shelves. The newly opened market adds another layer of flavor to Reno’s ethnic market basket.

RESOURCES

KJ MINI MART 1086 S. VIRGINIA ST., STE. C 329-6225

MERCADITO LATINO 1575 WELLS AVE. 322-0550

CARNICERIA DOS AMIGOS II 677 E. MOANA LANE 829-0881

INTERNATIONAL MARKET 95 E. GROVE ST. 825-5258

RENO ASIAN SUPERMARKET 803 W. FIFTH ST. 322-8820

MOSCOW MARKET & DELI 465 E. PLUMB LANE 329-2633

Sandra Macias is an incurable foodie and former food editor at the Reno Gazette-Journal.