10 Indian comfort foods to get you licking your chops!

Of course we all love kebabs and biryanis. And rich shrikhand puri. And beautifully oily shorshe ilish and ecstatically fattening salli boti. And a whole bunch of other elaborate festive treats. But when it comes down to the nitty gritty, there are some simple foods we always seek out, those comfort foods that remind us of childhood, of home, and naturally, of our mothers.  Here’s our list of favorites.

1) 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 !

2) 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?

3) Tayir saadum

Good old curd rice, how would the South survive without it? Usually tempered with mustard seeds, green chillies, urad dal, ginger and curry leaves, all that this ever so easy, ever so cooling and hugely popular favourite needs to complete it is a wedge of tinglingly sour lime or mango pickle… mmm, heavenly.

4) 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.

5) 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.  OMG.

6) 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!

 7) Rajma Chawal

The staple of vegetarian grad students the world over, who make their rajma for a week and thaw it in bits till the next Sunday, this is the go-to North Indian meal choice, particularly in Punjab.

8) Zunka/pitthla and bhakri

An incredibly easy, tasty and super nourishing dish that has its origins in farmers’ field meals. Marathi mothers rushed for time will turn this out with reassuring regularity. Zunka is the thicker version of pitthla, both made from spiced up gram flour. Bhakris can be made from bajra, jowar and millet, and are wonderfully healthy. For even more heat, get red hot thecha, a chutney of chillies, garlic, oil and salt!

9) Kanjiyum payaram

Literally, kanji or watery extra soft rice with lentils, this is the original Malayali comfort food. While everyone partakes of it, this dish is very special for Kerala Christians in particular, since it’s one of the approved simple meal options during Lent. Try it with some kadumanga or baby mango pickle. Like Oliver Twist, we guarantee you’ll put out your bowl hungrily for some more!

10) Bajra roti choora

Finally, what can be more comforting than that sugar high?  The simplest of sweets, and much loved up North, this choora is made from crumbled bajra rotis cooked with jaggery or sugar. Fancy versions are served up with makhanas (lotus seeds) or nuts, but even the most basic of well made chooras is a surefire hit.

Have we made you hungry enough? Get a plateful of your favourite comfort food and go for it!