Living on your own can be extremely hostile when you’re as broke as I am and the hostel food tastes like someone died in it (I suspect they use dead cats instead of halal meat these days).
And you can’t afford all that boujjee food that most of your friends are surviving off. In a state like this, the first thing you seriously miss is your mother’s cooking, even if Ama jani herself isn’t missed as much. I remember how I used to crave for those garam garam rotiyan fresh from the stove or those steaming hot chawal that made everything in the world seem right.
The cravings are usually bad but one day it got so worse that I couldn’t take anymore. Miraculously a friend suggested Ama’s Kitchen just before I lost it (just like in those Hindi films, the protagonist is saved just before dying). Ab meri us dost ke paas bhi itnay paisay nahi thay so I knew for a fact that I won’t have to sell off my kidneys for one meal. The best part? I even found Ama’s Kitchen on Food Panda!
I remember the first time I ordered it. It was Monday and the the rains weren’t stopping. I picked up my phone and ordered their Monday specialty. That 30-minute delivery time felt like a whole eternity, and then, finally, I met the love of my life: Kari Chawal (wo bhi siraf 170 rupay me!!). Now my biological mother is a good cook, but she could never make Kari Chawal as good as Ama’s kitchen.
The first bite was the best as I felt that creamy kari melt into my mouth. The pakora was hot, and so were the chawal. After that kari chawal became a necessity. My relationship with Ama’s kitchen has matured over time as I have tried a number of their meals, each keeping their promise of providing the warmth of a home-cooked meal. Inka khana to ab meri saggi maa se bhi zyada acha lagnay laga he mujhay (but please don’t tell that to my mother).
