This Chef Finds the Commonality Between Mexican and Indian Flavors

When Akhtar Nawab opens Otra Vez in New Orleans this month, it will be the latest in a roundabout career path he may never have expected, but has fully embraced.

Nawab grew up in Louisville, Ky., the son of a cardio-vascular surgeon and a nurse. Like many Indians who grew up in America, he was expected to follow that career path, but found himself interested in music and photography, not...