Mr. Gautam Purkayastha, the Managing Partner of Tamarind has a unique story to offer behind the opening of Tamarind. Gautam took an extensive travel in the year 2000 with his elder brother Dr. Siddhartha Purkayastha by road, starting Kolkata and took the entire coastal route to reach South Indian and South Western Coast.

Being an ardent foodie and having been inspired by great culinary and deep cultural background, it was an eye-opening experience of culinary trials during this journey of 3000 miles across the peninsular India.

Gautam, being a visionary with a difference, immediately wished to have a South Indian multi-cuisine offerings for the Calcuttans which would offer specialities from Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Coorgi, Karnataka, Goa and Coastal Odisha and Bengal. Gautam mentions that usually South Indian cuisine meant Idli, Dosa, Sambar and other typical vegetarian dishes.

During the journey, Gautam discovered the various cuisines of different states like Malabar, Andhra, Kerala etc. and the popular conception about South Indian cuisine was completely transformed. He shares that the people living beside the coastal regions have more access to fresh sea-foods like fish, crabs, prawns than any other region. Due to foreign invasions, the cuisines have evolved, South Indian Muslims have a different cookery known as Moplah Cuisine while the Anglo-Indians have a different style-in all these regions, having so many different culinary styles and cuisines. So they came back and decided to open a South Indian themed restaurant that will serve all these recipes.