Where it all began...

Praveen Kumar grew up in a small village called Mattampalli outside Hyderabad on the family spice farm.

Here are Praveen's mum and dad, Anthony Mary and Bala Reddy hard at work in the spice fields.

Mattampalli is a small quaint village situated on the banks of the River Krishna and is mainly renowned for its Narasimha Swami Temple.

As a young man Praveen left the village farm behind to follow his dream of working in the hospitality industry.

Praveen's families farm grow spices like chillies, coriander, mustard, green cardamom, garlic, ginger, and cumin.

The family farm has 4 full time workers and this can increase to 100 workers during harvest season (January - May)

A typical working day on the farm starts at 4am with a split shift due to the high temperatures.

Workers will finish at 10 am when it gets too hot, have a sleep then start work again from 3pm- 6pm.

The family farm also has 2 very important workers...2 x 12 year old Oxen.

The Oxen help to plough the fields and this is very common as a traditional farming method in India compared to using a tractor in the U.K

Once the spices are grown on the family farm they are then sundried and grinded with a giant pestle and mortar before being packaged up and sent to us here at Kumar's Curry Club.

The secret behind our great tasting curries are in the spices....letting you experience the real taste of India...in your very own home.