Thaali Online

The kitchen gets really hot by noon here at F7a in Sunder Vihar. We start early, chopping vegetables and getting the big pots of dal going. Being tucked away in Sodala means we’re mostly busy with packing boxes and getting deliveries out the door. There’s always a pile of steel containers being washed or stacked in the corner. It’s a small space, so we have to stay organized, or everything becomes a mess. We don’t have a big dining room or anything like that. It’s mostly just us working around the stoves and making sure the lids are tight so nothing leaks during the ride. Sometimes the delivery guys are waiting outside and we’re still rushing to finish the last vegetable dish. We use a lot of turmeric and cumin, so the whole street probably smells like our cooking. It’s hard work, especially when the orders come in all at once during the lunch hour. We just try to keep the food tasting like what you’d get at home. My hands usually smell like onions by the end of the day. We’ve been operating out of this spot for a bit, and the neighbors are used to the noise of the scooters coming and going. It’s a practical business, keeping people fed without any fuss. We just keep our heads down and cook. It is what it is, just daily work for us.