stew payasam and the famous kerala parotta it was her hindi teacher who urged her to start teaching we went there at 5 am and watched they prepared food for 200 people she says since the 1990s also saw the ethnic food boom in japan her classes had many takers kaoru katori is clad in a green sari with a mangalsutra round her neck and a red bindi adorning her forehead as i had several friends here i would travel to various parts of the country and sample the cuisine says katori who signed up for hindi and odissi dance classes in tokyo according to her there is a growing interest in south indian food in japan i learnt to knead the dough make pooris and simple vegetarian dishes says katori then in japan indian restaurants served only tandoori food and japanese people thought indian cuisine means just punjabi food i always wear a sari when i cook indian food as a mark of respect says katori who is back after a picklemaking session with an andhra family in chennai the beginners course teaches you how to use spices as well as vegetarian and nonvegetarian dishes samosa chapatti and poori she says it was just subzi and rice but i was struck by the taste i first tasted home cooked indian food in bhubaneswar says katori who came down to india in 1985 as a volunteer