This Very First Meal

We haven’t even moved in, but we’ve already had our first proper meal at the new home. While the new flat awaits the last two pieces of furniture to arrive, the kitchen is already fully stocked and functional. When I turned on the oven for the very first time to prep it, of course it tripped all the electrical power along the stretch. Duhhh. But I was prepared for that, and the heating element was quickly replaced.

S and N popped over to see how we were doing with the cleaning and packing, and brought us the full works of the mom’s cooking. Our eyes lit up at those boxes that have been thoughtfully filled and packed with amazing food. The fridge kept the food cold till 8pm. The microwave oven+grill works great, and heated up all the boxes evenly. That was our dinner that evening, and it was stupendously delicious.

Aunty J is a great cook and I love her dhaal. Tonight she made spinach dhaal and I slurrped it all up. It was my first time tasting her much raved about fish cutlets. OMG, they were indeed out-of-this-world tasty. Good chicken masala and fish curry were such an additional luxury. I love it that she has gone even lower on the salt in her cooking. But in Kerala cuisine, the spices lend so much flavor to the food that salt really isn’t necessary.

The man and I were thoroughly touched by the gift of good food. After a looong day of cleaning, it was more than comforting to sit down to a delicious meal that we didn't have to Deliveroo in. There’s nothing better than savoring a meal cooked with love, from people we love. It was such a beautiful way to kick off the first of many hopefully wonderful meals at our tiny dining table in our new home.