As soon as Radha and Prabha entered the competition My Kitchen Rules (MKR) the two identical twin sisters cooked up a storm with every dish. Be it their mouth-watering Lamb Rogan Josh at their instant restaurant or their Kerala prawn curry and chicken biryani at the finale, they won the hearts of the audience with their culinary skills, grace and humility.
Yet they also faced a lot of criticism: the viewers claimed the finale was ‘rigged’ as they only cooked Indian dishes, compared to their competitors who showed versality with every dish.
Fresh from their successful win, we talked to the twins who could not contain their excitement – they claimed they want to convert the criticism into an opportunity in educating Australians about the diverse Indian cuisine.
“From the start, we knew that it would be a challenge to stay true to our tradition, culture and authenticity,” Radha told Indian Link. “The platform of My Kitchen Rules is to show what your kitchen and heritage is all about. It was our decision completely to showcase our (native) South Indian flavours and carry that flag high during the entire competition. As you can imagine, there was a lot of competition with other cultures and modern Australian cuisines being showcased on the show.”
It was also a huge challenge for them behind the scenes as the Italians flew their flag very high.
“We maintained the honesty in our cooking and let that shine for the grand finale,” Radha said. “We have been receiving a lot of feedback that we only cooked Indian food and curries, but it is something that we take a lot of pride in. Everybody is saying ‘curry, curry, curry’ but we cooked biryani for example which is not a curry. It’s a rice dish!”
She concluded optimistically, “We aren’t offended by any of these comments. We can see there is a gap in the wider Australian community as how they perceive Indian cuisine. This is a great opportunity to educate the public about Indian food.”
As they stayed determined to pay homage to their heritage, Radha and Prabha also remained determined to deliver positive outcomes on MKR with their remarkable teamwork.
So how long have they been cooking together and what else do they do together?
“Radha and I have been cooking together for a very long time,” Prabha revealed. “My interest in cooking started when I was 10 years old and my mother gradually taught me what ingredients blend together in Indian cooking. Radha slowly joined us in the journey as she got intrigued and then nothing held us back. We were cooking in the kitchen, trying new recipes, replicating our mum’s recipes. Just like any sisters, we do a lot together. We play tennis and just love hanging out with each other.”
So what is the secret of their success in the kitchen?
“That we lean on each other a lot physically and emotionally. Our strong twinship and friendship bond that we have as sisters got us through. We trusted each other completely. We also knew when we had to take over each other. We were able to assess the situation quickly, pick up what needs to be done and keep moving,” the twin sisters said. MKR Radha and Prabha
The twins took home a $100,000 cash prize.
“This is definitely a great opportunity for both of us,” Radha said looking back at their participation in this year’s My Kitchen Rules. “Food has been a passion and a hobby, but we also want to make an impact on the community. We plan to come up with a Twindian cookbook with all the recipes that we showcased and many more. This is not the last time you have heard of ‘Twindian’!”
It’s clear they are fully motivated to make a mark in the food industry.
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