Ammini Ramachandran was born in Kerala, India and moved to the United States for higher studies. A chemistry graduate from Kerala University, she studied finance in the United States and received her MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She was a financial analyst in international banking until 2001. After Sep 11, 2001, she took early retirement and decided to pursue her hobby, writing.
A financial analyst turned freelance food writer, she has devoted her time over the past eight years to researching and writing about the ancient Indian Ocean spice trade and its influences on her home state Kerala's (India) cuisine and culture on her web site www.peppertrail.com. In March 2007 she published Grains, Greens, and Grated Coconuts: Recipes and Remembrances of a Vegetarian Legacy.
She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS), Slow Food USA, and Culinary Historians of New York. She holds a diploma in article writing from the School of Careers, Berkshire, UK; a BSc in chemistry and physics from Kerala; and an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Ammini Ramachandran has made several presentations about Indian Ocean Spice trade and its influences on her native cuisine in New York, Dallas, and Napa Valley, California. In New York she made presentations for the New York Women's Culinary Alliance, Queens Library System, and the Culinary Historian of New York. In November 2007 she presented and demonstrated at the tenth annual Worlds of Flavor Conference and Festival entitled "Rise of Asia: Culinary Traditions of the East and Flavor Discovery in 21st Century America" at The Culinary Institute of America, Greystone, Napa Valley. In Dallas area she made presentations at the Culinary School at Collin county Community College a dinner/talk at Central Market, Dallas for the American Institute of Wine and Food.
She writes a column on spices for www.Sallys-place.com, the premier Web site for food, beverages, and travel. Her recipes have appeared in the Providence Journal and the award winning food web site www.leitesculinaria.com. Her articles have appeared in Gastronomica, Flavor & Fortune, a quarterly journal dedicated to the art and science of Chinese cuisine, and Sacred Waters, a collection of articles and stories published by Adams Media. She contributed to the Food History Primer published by International Association of Culinary Professionals.
Grains, Greens, and Grated Coconuts has received several rave reviews in various publications as well on the internet in the United States, Singapore and India including the New York Times, Saveur, Austin Chronicle, Plano Profile, Plano Insider, and the Daily News Record. On January 12, 2008 her book received the Cordon D'or Gold Ribbon International Cookbook award for the best self published cookbook. It was also picked as the overall winner from the twelve categories of cookbook awards presented.

A book signing is scheduled on Saturday April 12, at 2 PM at Barnes & Noble 2566 Preston Rd, Plano, Texas 75093.

Peppertrail.com