Firstly. Maybe Pallavi just likes to cook or that’s one of her love languages. My aunt cooks for us all day every day bc that’s her love language - she likes to feed people. We need to stop equating cooking for her family, no matter how trash they are, as something bad or something to be looked down upon.
Secondly. I mean at the end of the day, no matter how much we hate her family, they are still her family. Her mom is paralyzed. No one else in that house knows how to cook. It’s only natural that as a daughter, who does know how to cook, she takes on that temporary responsibility. They already discussed hiring a cook. This is what you do for family even if you dislike them.
And as others have said, her rushing was so she wouldn’t get caught. It’s a small house with lots of people, she can’t be gone for that long without being noticed.