What exactly is comfort food, food that not just satisfies your gut but gives peace to your soul. I never was a foodie and still wont call myself yet, because I feel food in general is not appreciated enough by foodies. Let me correct myself Culinary Art or the actual effort that goes behind the gorgeous looking plate you see on Instagram.
I was the same person till the time I went behind the table and was forced not to starve myself to death. As soon as I got married my only job was to cook for everybody but I did not know HOW ? I would call my mother or ask my MIL a step by step process while cooking. Soon after when I moved to USA, I guess that is when all of it started. I had lot of time on my hands and my mother’s food pulled me into the kitchen. I missed her, her food, her constant dance sessions while cooking, her retro radio all of it.
For me comfort has always been my Mother and the food that she brings to the table. She does not do any fancy Culinary Art but I am drooling with just a thought while writing this blog. I still remember all the afternoon lunches, it was just me and my mother, I would be back from school and she would come back from her first job. Even after working two jobs she would spun something like in an hour and i still cannot replace those recipes. I can’t still gather that flavor that she had over whatever she cooked, I wish I could pin it down somehow because phone calls don’t help. No matter how many fancy places I try, I still have meltdowns when I miss her food.
My comfort food is Kadhi Chawal. A simple yogurt based curry topped with lots of mustard seeds, curry leaves and fritters dropped in. This meal takes me home, brings me peace and I feel like a calm running through. The curry is made with yogurt, chick pea flour, the tempering is the actual trophy that brings out the flavor. A constant eye on the boiling gives the curry a kick that you do not even need a side dish to go with it. It takes a simple curry to something that triggers me back to my childhood and those endless memories with my mother. I feel blessed.
I hope everyone finds their comfort food because it is something to call your own whether you bring it to the table or someone brings it to you. Go ahead, Explore and send me some of your comfort food recommendations.
Food & Fragrance 