Ammini Ramachandran is a Texas-based freelance writer, culinary educator and author of "Grains, Greens, and Grated Coconuts: Recipes and Remembrances of a Vegetarian Legacy" (iUniverse 2007). She has contributed to Flavor & Fortune, Sacred Waters, Cultural Encyclopedia of Vegetarianism and Storied Dishes. She is a correspondent for Heritage India and writes about the culture, traditions and cuisine of her home state Kerala, India, on her website www.peppertrail.com.

Ammini has taught Indian cooking classes at Central Market Cooking Schools in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Houston, and the Institute of Culinary Education, New York. She was a presenter at the 10th annual Worlds of Flavor International Conference & Festival -- Rise of Asia -- at the Culinary Institute of America in 2007 and her recipes appear in "The Flavors of Asia" published by the Culinary Institute of America. She has made presentations at The New York Women's Culinary Alliance, American Institute of Wine and Food, Dallas, the Houston Culinary Guild and Culinary Historians of New York.

She has a B.Sc. in chemistry, MBA in finance and a diploma in article writing. She is a member of Slow Food USA and Culinary Historians of New York.