comfort foods

OR: a long text post bc I forgot my camera...

Just the title should tell you the timbre of the past few days for me- in the sense of what I crave...NEED... is a few days down and comfort food.

So tonight after hacking thru a yoga class (and last night's dance debacle) I decided on the way home that what I really needed in my life was a big savory bowl of dal and rice with yoghurt on it.

Comfort food is an intensely personal subject. Real comfort food always has a story- this is what my grandmother used to make for me or this is a meal I remember during a very difficult time in my life...

For me, dal and rice is first and formost an amazing sensory experience. Every time I cook it, my house is perfumed with whatever blend of spices I'm craving; hot sharp pepper and ginger or rich heady cinnamon and clove. In that way it's a great canvas for creativity and a great way to use up bits of other meals and ingredients in a new way. Which makes sense considering there are at least 50 types of dal, or dried split beans, in India and Pakistan alone. Some of the best dal I made recently was with the leftover shreds of turkey from thanksgiving, but I've also added veggies, tofu, meat- really the options are endless.

What's the difference between the types of dal? Well some are white, some are small and red, some are kind of a medium size and red, some are black...honestly I have no idea.

No I'm kidding.

The different types of dal (the ingredient) are different types of beans. Pigeon peas, lentils, chickpeas and kidney beans are just a few of the types of dried beans that can be made into dal (the dish). I've never tried making dal from canned beans, but as a big part of the flavor comes from the beans simmered in a broth- I'm not sure I want to try making it with canned beans, they'd just be too watery, and would have lost most of their flavor in the canning process no?

Anyway- the basics of dal-making are about as third world as you can get with a meal. Really it's just the Indian version of cheap protein cooked in water with spice, and then doubled by mixing with rice. Also, it really only requires one pot- and can simmer for hours- freeing you up to milk the cows, clean the house, weave. You know-the rest of your afternoon to-do list. Dal is linked at least in spirit to red beans and rice, hunters stew, cassoulet and the like. It's a side dish, made to accompany a meat or veggie main course, but it can be dressed up or beefed up (literally), and it is in that iteration that I find the perfect week-long meal option!

Tonight, I used the little white dal, added a bit of Amy D's chimichurri spice mixture, roasted frozen broccoli and cauliflower, and a little white wine at the end. I was hungry and can't stay up late intentionally or unintentionally again, so I didn't wait for the lentils break down- but the al dente bean was a nice texture with the rice and yoghurt.

The final thing- which really marks this as a comfort food meal- I mix it all together in my bowl to make "soup".

So... what's your comfort food?