My mom says "I love you" with aloo paratha

This story first appeared on Food52, an online community that gives you everything you need for a happier kitchen and home – that means tested recipes, a shop full of beautiful products, a cooking hotline, and everything in between! At this very moment I'm trying to remember where I kept my laptop charger, and say with annoyance, "No mom, that's way too many." As I start making my way downstairs to the laundry room, my mom brightly asks, "Would you like to take some coconut chutney?" And then my mom appears with the finished stack of aloo parathas, coconut chutney, and a plastic grocery bag of mustard seeds, cardamom pods, and a little cardboard box of tandoori masala. Maybe I never choose aloo paratha because It tastes complicated, like guilt and gratitude and too much time spent away, not seeing my parents enough, and how good to me they are anyway.