The Early Years
During his frequent childhood trips to Gujarat in India with his Mother, 8 year-old Minesh Agnihotri took on peeling and chopping duties, while his mother effortlessly prepared a series of fresh, delectable dishes for her family. The sights, aromas and sounds of an Indian home kitchen – the hissing of the pressure cooker and the mustard seeds spluttering in hot oil – made an indelible impression on him and was the start of his great passion for what is surely the world’s greatest cuisine.
Fast forward ten years. A visit to a traditional curry house with his friends after a cricket match, left Minesh dismayed: where was the real Indian food? Still today, even, much of what many of us think of as “curry” (a term that now refers generally to dishes from the sub-continent) is a poor representation of Indian food. Minesh’s Mum thinks so, too.