Local rules
Selling home-cooked food is regulated — differently in every state, county, and province. Read this before you cook for anyone.
There is no single answer to "is this legal?" The rules are set at the state, county, and provincial level, they change, and they differ enormously between places that sit right next to each other. Rasoi cannot determine what applies to you. This page is a starting point, not legal advice — the finishing point is a phone call to your local health department.
Cottage food laws
Most US states have a cottage food law that lets people sell certain foods made at home. But these laws generally cover only shelf-stable items — baked goods, jams, dry mixes, and the like. Hot, ready-to-eat meals are usually excluded. If you plan to sell dal, curry, biryani, or anything else served warm, a cottage food law probably does not cover it.
MEHKO — California
California created a framework specifically for hot meals from home kitchens: Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations, established by AB 626. A MEHKO permit lets a home cook sell a limited number of meals per week, directly to consumers, from her own kitchen.
The catch: MEHKO is adopted county by county, and many counties have not adopted it. Living in California is not enough — your county has to have opted in, and you have to hold a permit from your county's environmental health department.
Other states
Outside California, a few states have passed home-kitchen or food-freedom laws that allow some sales of home-cooked meals, each with its own limits and conditions. Most states have not. The only way to know where yours stands is to ask your state or county health department directly.
Canada
In Canada, food sales are governed provincially and municipally, through regional health authorities. Requirements vary by province and by health region. Contact your regional health authority before selling anything you've cooked at home.
Before you cook for anyone: contact your county or regional health department and describe exactly what you plan to do — hot meals, cooked in your home kitchen, sold to people nearby. Ask what permit, if any, you need. Do this first, not after your first order.
What Rasoi does — and doesn't — check
Rasoi does not verify permits. When a cook sets up her kitchen, she may enter a permit number. That number is shown to diners as information she provided — not as something Rasoi has checked, confirmed, or endorsed. Responsibility for complying with local law rests with each cook.