…I ate a bunch of food. There’s no denying that Indian food is an unbelievably broad category, really; it’s almost insulting to cram such a huge range of culinary traditions under that one umbrella. I spent about two and a half weeks in Bangalore for work some years back and got to see the tiniest sliver of this first hand. Fancy restaurants, little cafes, office cafeterias–I was so happy to try it all.

So why am I posting about a pretty humble dish, lemon rice?

One of my coworkers shared it with me. Her mom made it for breakfast. There was a chutney. It was colorful and full of texture and some milder flavors (turmeric, mustard seed, curry leaf). It’s not the kind of thing you’re likely to find in many restaurants, and yet, it was so delicious to me. So satisfying. Honest to blob, I dream about this fucking lemon rice sometimes.

Like…you can travel and eat at restaurants, and that’s awesome (dear god I have so many fond memories of eating my way through Singapore on the same work trip), but connecting with another person over food? Over cooking? That’s special.

Anyway, I hadn’t tried to recreate it at home, because I was pretty sure it would disappoint. I did, however, procure some curry leaves (my partner’s gardener extraordinaire mother has a plant), and thought I’d give it a go, using Vegan Richa’s recipe. It wasn’t as good as the memory, naturally, but it was wonderful all the same.