There was so much joy at our table when K and I sat down for lunch a couple of Sundays back. On the menu were the Parsi favourites of dhansak and lagan nu custard.
We had called in for this from Katy’s Kitchen which is run by our friends Dr Kurush Dalal and his wife Rhea Mitra Dalal. The business was started by the late Dr Katy Dalal, Kurush’s mum.
They had to close their kitchen at the onset of the covid pandemic and had just opened again in a new avatar. This time helmed by Rhea and just one staff from the past, Sallu Bhai. Not the trusty band of six who ran it before. Not from their kitchen at Mazgaon which they had to give up, but from the tiny kitchen in their new apartment at Vashi.
K and I broke into a smile at the start of the meal and said, ‘it is the same old,’ to each other.
In this interview on #FoodocracyForHer, Rhea tells us about her journey in food and how cooking dhansak helped her come out of the dark space that the pandemic had tried to push her into. Which meant that a dish which is associated with funeral rites (the dhansak), featured in a celebratory meal this time!
An experience which made Rhea reach out to home chefs and say, “if I could do it, so can you!” Do watch the video to know more.
