- The charm of spice curry discovered by a science major

Indukariko says she has been working in the kitchen with her mother since she was in the first grade of elementary school.

"Even when my mother wasn't around, I would cook by myself as long as I had the ingredients. For example, yakisoba (fried noodles). I found it fascinating that by mixing the noodles, onions, and pork in a frying pan, it takes on a completely different, delicious flavor. It's the same with cake, isn't it? Flour, eggs, butter, sugar. When you mix them in a set ratio and bake them, a different flavor is created from the original ingredients. Spices are perhaps a prime example of this."

I was not good at liberal arts subjects, so I went on to study physics at university. It was during the winter of my first year at university that I made spicy curry for the first time.

"At the time, spices were not yet available in supermarkets, so I went to a specialist Asian food store to buy them, and when I made it for my sister in my kitchen, it was amazing. But at that time there were no easy-to-understand recipes for spice curry. I read a lot of recipes and picked out only the necessary ingredients, excluding any spices or ingredients that were just modified, and started sharing my simple recipes on blogs and other platforms. Up until then I had no hobbies or dreams for the future, and I couldn't devote myself to my university life, clubs, or part-time jobs, but I had a hunch that sharing the recipes that no one else had made would spread, and a sense of mission that I had to spread the word."

- Efforts and strategies to become a spice evangelist

When he was in his third year of university, he released his first spice set. With this set, more and more people started making spice curry for the first time, as it was easy to make.

After graduating from university, he engaged in research on agricultural and life sciences at the graduate school of the University of Tokyo.

"I chose this course because I wanted to work with spices, rather than continuing to study something unrelated and taking an unrelated job. Some people may think of the Faculty of Agriculture as farming, but today's Faculty of Agriculture is conducting research into the functionality of plants, such as the caffeine in coffee beans and the polyphenols in grapes, which are used to make wine. I was researching the efficacy of spices that come from plants."

Perhaps the fact that she is a current female university student, a student at the University of Tokyo, and that she uses the catchy name Indukariko instead of her real name helped her receive a flurry of offers to appear on television and in magazines, and to publish recipe books.

"I'm not particularly fond of curry, nor is cooking a hobby, but I felt that if there was no one spreading the appeal of this spice, which has so many possibilities, then why not do it myself? If people think curry is heavy and high in calories, then I'd make a recipe that isn't, and if they think it can only be made in a large pot, then I'd make a recipe for one serving. It wasn't so much because I wanted to do it, but because nothing existed in the world, so I created it, spread the word about it, and here we are today."

For Japanese people, curry is a national dish. Recently, Indian curry, which uses spices, has also become popular.

"I don't think there is anyone in the world who doesn't like spices. Since ancient times, not only in Asia but also in Europe, people have used spices such as pepper and nutmeg to add variety to their meals, which had become monotonous. Pepper was introduced to Japan around the time of the Meiji Restoration, which was also the time when the culture of eating meat was introduced. This is just my guess, but it's possible that spices such as curry powder started to be used to mask the odor and make meat more delicious. Endless combinations stimulate people's intellectual curiosity and create delicious food. My goal is to make spice curry a Japanese home-cooked dish, following in the footsteps of curry with roux, which has now become Japan's national dish."

- New recipes born from encounters and discoveries in India

The spice that's currently all the rage is nutmeg.

"I absolutely love star anise, and I've loved the scent of wushanfen (five-spice powder) since I was little. Adding star anise to butter chicken curry or biryani really improves the aroma."

What spices would you recommend for a beginner to start with?

"How about cumin? Even when stir-frying meat, replacing salt and pepper with salt and cumin will create a new flavor."

Since his university days, he has visited India, the mecca of spicy curry, many times.

"There is always something new to discover, from markets and supermarkets to the kitchens of local homes. Also, all the curries you eat in India are really delicious. In order to adapt and develop original recipes, it is necessary to know the classics, the classics and the origins. I always think that a recipe that everyone will find delicious is found in the overlapping area of a lot of information."

In India, and in Japan too, glasses are an essential item.

"I've been nearsighted since elementary school and have been wearing glasses since I was in the third grade. I must have changed my glasses more than 15 times since then. Because my eyesight is poor, the lenses are thick, and I was worried that my eyes would look small when I wore glasses. But Charmant Ginza Namiki Dori recommended me glasses for severe myopia with thin lenses and a choice of bridge lengths, which I think will make me feel more comfortable from now on."