Food is among the three basic needs of every human being. While some take their love for all things food a bit further, labeling themselves as “Foodies”, every single human being loves to eat. Everyone’s a foodie in their own way. It’s undeniable. There’s an ocean of varying styles of food across the cultures with their varying traditions, and within these cultures, there always exist certain types of food items that bring upon a sense of nostalgia or sentimental value with every bite taken. Mainly due to the history and memories attached. They give you a feeling of absolute comfort every time. Rightfully, we call them “comfort foods”
Comfort food
1. Bread Pakodas
Nobody goes to college in Delhi without hanging out over this home-grown everyday snack: bread, with or without a filling – usually spicy potatoes – dipped in batter and deep fried. Carbs stuffed with carbs and fried in oil used several times over that day. Oh, what the heck, do they taste good or what? So good, that Bittu in ‘Band Baja Baraat’ even swore by them: remember, bread pakodi ki kasam?
2. Maggi
Who hasn’t longed for a bowl of steaming bas-do-minute Maggi as the ultimate snack at some point in time? There’s oodles of research out there on why this became Nestle’s all-time best selling product. Have it with onions or add veggies, break an egg into it, or tuck into the plain chicken flavored stuff. In Kolkata, there’s even a small cafe that does a roaring business in gourmet Maggi: 4-cheese Maggi, Maggi with bacon bits, and such like. Who cares that it’s loaded with MSG? We didn’t as kids, and clearly, kids today don’t either.
3. Litti chokha
This humble but truly yummy dish from Bihar features litti, small crisp balls of roasted dough that turn out to be deliciously moist inside, served with chokha, a spicy mix of potatoes, tomatoes and brinjals. And – here’s the decadent part – lashings of homemade ghee. It’s great to take on train journeys, apparently. But everyone likes it so much that it even featured on the menu at the mega wedding of the year between Mulayam Singh Yadav’s grandson and Lalu Yadav’s youngest daughter. Litti chokha rules!
4. Dim sheddo with aloo bhatey
That perennial Bong whip-it-up-in-a-jiffy meal: rice mashed up with boiled potatoes, boiled eggs, green chillies and a generous spoonful of sharp mustard oil.
5. Moong dal khichdi
Time honoured and well loved, khichdi appears across the country in several fascinating avatars. Bengalis like it watery, spicy and full of veggies. The Marathis like it drier and blander, with some piping hot kokum-flavored godh saar. In the South, it goes by the name of pongal. And up North, they even have a rhyme to describe its accompaniments: khichdi ke hai char yaar/ dahi, papad, ghee, achaar !
6. Aloo Paratha
Who doesn’t love Aloo Parathas? This delicacy is not an incredibly hard challenge to prepare, & if you haven’t yet learned to prepare it. Take my advice, learn it now! Every bite into a nicely made Aloo Paratha is rewarding. We’ve all eaten it. We all know it. It’s one of the perfect Indian comfort foods to make for yourself or a loved one. Imagine a stack of thick Aloo Parathas waiting for you, hot, with butter on top, served with curd and pickle.
7. Rajma Chawal
This as a meal would take you down memory lane. A nice thick gravy of red kidney beans (rajma) served with rice is all you need for the perfect meal sometimes. This works exceptionally well for dinner after a long, tiring day. It’s wholesome, tasty, and good at bringing back memories from the times you had had it before. The preparation is not too difficult and is always worth the effort. We know rajma chawal as the perfect taste of home. But did you know your favourite comfort food has a culinary counterpart in some remote corners of the globe?