July 22nd:
I’ve been writing these journal entries the next morning, logging the food I ate the day before. This one I write quickly at 3:15am IST, on the 23rd as I’m about to leave for the airport, to fly back to London soon. I had roti and leftover dahi for a quick breakfast at my mother’s before saying bye to her and her parents. I got back to my father's and scarfed down a bowl of fresh papaya, grown by my grandmother. It was bright orange, bursting with sweetness and flavour. I made myself some coffee on the stove, and sat down to do some work.
At around lunchtime, my sister and father got back from an errand and we ate lunch together: dal-rice-aloo gobi-dahi. This is a staple everyday lunch, with just variations in the type of dal and type of vegetable on the side, today was potato (aloo) and cauliflower (gobi). This is what I ate throughout having covid, and have had most days since being back except this week of special goodbye meals.
An old friend came over in the afternoon, and we caught up over chai. Vada pav was also ordered from a shop nearby: a Marathi snack consisting of a deep fried potato patty, sandwiched between a bun that has spicy red garlic chutney spread on the inside. It is served with a fried green chilli. This is a snack you would really crave again once you’ve tried it, especially on a rainy day.
For dinner, my sister helped me cook a big batch of Japanese Golden Curry with onions, potatoes, carrots and chunks of soya. I brought a box of this curry block from London as I cook it so often because of how easy-delicious it is, and wanted to share that with everyone. We ate it with white rice, Lao Gan Ma (chilli crisp that I brought back too- and that my grandmother has become obsessed with) and cucumbers. It was given the seal of approval, and no leftovers remained. It is a good feeling when you cook a large meal for many people, and it turns out to be the perfect portion. Ok now I feel a bit nauseous this early in the morning and will stop writing!
Hi all I’m Ru (she/they), a designer and researcher based in South-East London. I’m part of Em–Dash Press, a small press that produces (amongst other things) a series of zines on our shared love of eggs. I’m also a part of à la carte, a collective that explores the relationship between food and care through a series of workshops. Find my instagram here.