One thing’s for sure. To rework one of the most hackneyed food-related proverbs ever, one man’s comfort is another man’s puzzlement. At least that’s the conclusion I reached after a dipstick survey in the office about favourite comfort foods. (The question spawned a spirited discussion on weird foods. More about that another time.) If it was Maggi noodles with toast for one, it was KFC chicken for another (accompanied by some forceful ‘ewwws’ by others); for yet another, it was roast chicken while for a more homely soul, it was papad and pickles (we suspect the office canteen has had a great influence on her).
One girl said hers was chocolate any day with not a shade of guilt while another murmured “channa chur-type of mixtures” with a look that clearly said “Yes, I know they are fattening but I can’t help it’.
But that’s really the point about comfort foods. Those wonderful foods, those little nuggets of heaven that gush into our soul and make it all gooey and happy and wrap us (especially on cold wintry days) in a warm blanket of well, comfort. Hang those calories!
But this definition of comfort food is somewhat flawed.
Our minds are strange brewing towns full of twisted associations that have nothing to do with logic. Sometimes, the foods that comfort you might not necessarily be your favourites but might have come to you in the perfect atmosphere — a chill in the air, a romantic movie on the tube and mummy bustling about in the kitchen, for instance. In such times, give me anything that mummy has made (yes, even karela chips) and that will gladden my soul more than any favourite comfort food can.
Kitchen is where the comfort is a friend who shifted to London recently told me whenever she even hears a mention of the foods that she grew up on, she can “smell it and feel its texture” around her tongue. No caviar and no oyster can fill that void, she said wistfully. That about sums it up.
I guess when our minds are cold and hungry and aching for love, we head to the kitchen in the hope of creating some warmth. Happily enough, food does have this great ability to give us a warm pat on our backs (or stomachs) and say, ‘ok buddy, now move on’.
P.S: My comfort food is masala chai with ‘dippable’ cookies, preferably chocolate digestives.

 


Comments


Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply