Comfort food, is not just for the soul, it is soothing and nourishing to the body too. It is warm and hearty, sometimes complex in flavour to something as simple as a peanut butter sandwich. It comes laced with sweet childhood memories but also dipped in the sourness of lonely moments when only food rescues you. It is what the heart yearns when it's grey and cloudy outside, but also what you want to serve your family on bright sunday morning gathered around a table, a room filled with laughter and chatter. Real and unpretentious, comfort food never gets old.
For most North Indians, one form of
dal (lentils) or other is not just comforting, it is a daily grind. Followed closely by
Kadhi, a chickpeas flour and yogurt soup often served with a lentil and rice pilaf called
khichri. It is best eaten sitting on the floor, touching the earth, feasting on what came from it and into our souls made of earth. Spoons are acceptable but real comfort comes with mixing the soup and rice with your bare hands and poaching in some
spicy lemon pickle or just fresh green chillies with each bite, alternated with crispy
papad. It is an alchemy of flavours in their simplest, most unglamorous form.
