CONCOCTING CULTURAL CUISINE

EXECUTIVE CHEF AT MASALA LIBRARY, RAHUL PUNJABI LEFT HIS JOB AT GOOGLE TO PURSUE HIS DREAMS. IN CONVERSATION WITH KASHIKA BINDRANI GARERA, HE TALKS ABOUT HIS JOURNEY AND WHAT SINDHI CUISINE MEANS TO HIM

- KASHIKA BINDRANI GARERA

A Sunday afternoon in a Sindhi household always smells of mustard seeds and curry leaves. While the entire family waits eagerly to be called to the lunch table, you are sure to find a large pot full of Sindhi Curry being stirred in the kitchen, with some aloo tuk, prepped and seasoned, carefully kept next to the stove. Mumbai-based Rahul Punjabi's house was no different. His mother and grandmother would often spend their time cooking delectable Sindhi dishes, while Rahul would watch them and help out every chance he got. Days like these were instrumental in enabling him to realize his dreams at a very young age.

"Food, language and traditions play a very important part in shaping culture, and food has always been my first connection to being Sindhi," shares Rahul. While working in the kitchen came naturally to him, he spent his early years pursuing a degree in management studies and working at a corporate job, before he could get his family's nod to embark on his culinary quest. The HR college graduate then moved to Sydney to study commercial cooking at Le Cordon Bleu. Right after graduation, Rahul worked at some of the best restaurants in Sydney - The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay and Quay. "At Quay, I was working under the guidance of Peter Gilmore. He is a genius when it comes to cooking and learning from him was the opportunity of a lifetime for me."