The task of learning Tamil cuisine was my Everest once upon a time. I spent a lot of time helping my mother cook as a child, was preparing breakfast for my family every morning by the time I was in grade seven, and could follow a recipe to the letter to make anything I wanted, but when it came to Tamil food, I was stumped.

"When I was younger, I used to think the Tamil language was rather lame. It was something I was forced to learn by adults, through early childhood lessons with my mother, Tamil classes spent doodling, and conversations with Tamil adults where the head nodded more than the mouth spoke."