The Stew That I Ate for Three Days Straight

A first-in-a-lifetime event

I had never in my life eaten the same thing three nights in a row — until this particular night. But it wasn’t a bad thing.

The first meal, on a Tuesday, I found myself with a bunch of chicken (we’d poached one for stock, so I had that too). I make bread pretty much every day and wanted to try chapatis with the sourdough and was craving dal and had these lovely black lentils — so this thing took shape. I was determined to cook for two, or at most four, thinking we’d eat the stuff for lunch the next day or maybe dinner.