A simple ingredient, carefully prepared. It was the lesson Amar Singh’s mother taught him as a child in the kitchen. A lesson he honed on his food truck, the Curry Cruiser. The lesson that underpins every product he makes at Spicemode, a company he founded in 2013 to make Indian-inspired curry sauces, such as warming Magic Masala and tropical Golden Madras.

“Her method of caramelizing onions before adding ginger, garlic, chilies and spices to build a foundation for delicious homestyle curries is my inspiration,” he says. “I still cook with my mother to this day.”

Singh was raised in Chicago, but always kept in touch with his roots through food.

“I have so many memories of being in the kitchen with her. Her patience to develop flavors and love of cooking for the family. She would never rush. Some dishes we cook would take hours, even days. ... I had this Burmese-Indian upbringing, which made everything a little bit more unique, and it’s something that I really cherish.”