About the
ACAI Founders
Raghavan Iyer, CCP
ACAI Co-founder and
Vice President of Education
"Street food was always forbidden in our household," recalls Mumbai native Raghavan Iyer. "My eldest sister, Lali, was really my second mother looking after me and teaching me many things including how to cook," he added. "One thing she insisted on throughout my childhood was 'Don't eat the food on the streets!'" But, somehow the forbidden dishes on the street corners were so attractive to Raghavan that he would often sneak out to try just a few. With a quarter of a rupee in his pocket (barely a penny) he would seek out the old woman selling juicy ripe guavas and patiently wait while she cut the fruit into quarters then carefully smother it in salt and cayenne pepper. Delicious!
Or, he would find the vendors selling garbanzos in mango sauce with fried bread, or split black lentil fritters, or garlic potatoes spiked with fiery green chilies and cilantro. Perhaps part of the attraction was eating the food from bowls made of leaves then feeding the empty leaf bowls to the wild dogs, cows and monkeys that roamed the streets.
The largest city in India, Mumbai is not far from the equator and home to 12 million people. Called Bombay by Westerners, Mumbai reclaimed its original name in 1997, the fiftieth anniversary of India's independence from its British rulers.
It was also a fascinating city to grow up in, filled with people from all corners of India and foods from every section of the country. Raghavan's mother kept a vegetarian kitchen much like her mother who lived in South India. She still cooks for those children who are still living at home and for their children, making everything from scratch - everyday. On a recent visit to Raghavan's home in Minnesota, she was surprised to see how much he had learned from her and how much he liked cooking the dishes from his childhood. It helps keep his memories of Mumbai alive and well.
"Today I often cook the foods of my childhood for my students and catering clients," said Iyer. "It's my way of sharing my heritage with my friends here in the U.S." Named Outstanding Cooking Teacher of 2004 by the IACP, Iyer teaches Asian cooking at ACAI and throughout the United States. He is currently working on his third cookbook.
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Raghavan Iyer (left) |
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