Contribution by Radnyee. Thank you Radnyee :) for me comfort food is clearly half boiled egg and buttered toast

Soul food

A long, long time ago, I can still remember…..how that whistle used to make me smile! The short-long whistle of the pressure cooker signaling that lunch was ready. And in my grandmother’s house, lunch had to include varan-bhaat- the blandest concoction in the Maharashtrian culinary experience. I absolutely loved it. Even today, comfort food to me means varan-bhaat. Every steaming bite brings with it the sound of my grandfather’s old Hindi tapes, the sunlight beaming through frosted windowpanes, the smell of freshly squeezed lemon as my grandmother smilingly feeds me a big mouthful.
Here’s the recipe if you don’t know it already, it’s the easiest thing in the world to make;

Pressure cook the rice and dal in separate vessels. The dal is a mix of split tuvar and moong dals to which water, hing and some turmeric has been added before cooking.
After opening the cooker, add some water to the dal and churn it to make it the right consistency (the texture is critical- not too thick, not too watery)
Serve hot over the rice, with ghee and fresh lemon.

Comfort food is different for different people. I have friends who swear by chocolate. Or khichdi. Or cookies. Found this article in The Telegraph, on comfort food while I was looking for the most popular choices: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080728/jsp/entertainment/story_9610195.jsp

And here’s an old episode of BBC’s Posh Nosh on comfort food- for no particular reason: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scPT7n5s4nY

So, did any of this take you back in time? What brings you home in a single bite?