Global Comfort Food

I've been thinking a lot about comfort food lately. Probably because it's spring and unpredictable temperatures can lead to frosty nights; spring means the end of the the school year and you can feel the stress palpitating in the air; mostly because I just enjoy the big bits of savory food that make everything--your belly, your life--seem right. As a result I have always been a big proponent of comfort food in its various iterations: the thick mashed potatoes on top of glistening minced meat in a baked shephard's pie; the creamy, chewy mac and cheese bites, even better fried in breadcrumbs the next day; a hot dog with all the fixings (yes, I find this comforting).

I have recently begun to think about some of the the more "adventurous" things we've cooked at home as comfort food, and post here various iterations of these culinary warm fuzzies as things to think about when you're looking to make your stomach give that satisfying something that just makes you go, "Yeaahhhh." One of the things about comfort foods, however, is that what makes you go, "Yeaahhhh" is often a pound or so of cheese, or butter, or other guilty pleasure. My hope is that these culinary trips around the world for different comfort foods will provide us with something a little more weight-friendly.

How do you define a comfort food? For me, it's in the type/speed of cooking -- it either needs to be a quick and easy meal that you can enjoy right away, or a longer, slower method for the oven to warm you up while the smells permeate your house. Comfort food is also starchy -- pasta, rice, noodles, or grains of some sort to soak up some delicious flavors and provide that filling bite and full belly at the end. Lastly, comfort food has flavor -- a taste that lingers with you after you've chewed and can surprise you. (This, for example, is why bacon, ham, or tomatoes elevate mac and cheese for me.)

We've been posting a lot about curries lately and this is no exception. It's also a good way to introduce this series of "Global Comfort Food" posts. I had a distinct craving to make biryani, which indicated that it was a comfort food of some sort. Again pulled from our trusty 660 Curries book, this recipe was simple to make and delicious.

What makes a biryani a biryani is that the sauce, usually cooked in intense flavors, is prepared separately from the rice, then cooked together afterwards. In this case, this South Indian recipe involved cubes of lamb shoulder marinated for several hours in plain yogurt and a blend of spices, including paprika, masala--a "hot mix" of many different spices itself--and turmeric.
(An interesting side note on marinades: there is a lot of debate/science behind types of marinades for meat--perhaps the subject of a more detailed post down the line--and the consensus seems to be that dairy-based marinades, in their enzymatic essence, do excellent work of tenderizing meats.)

Basmati rice was cooked and flavored by ghee, saffron, and other whole spices (again, once you stock your pantry with the basics for many Indian recipes -- cinnamon sticks, cardmom pods, mustard seeds-- you are set to go), then mixed in with the lamb and put in the oven until the lamb was tender and cooked through. We served this with a little bit of raita--a yogurt accompaniment--on the side. For this one, we mixed some finely chopped radishes, mint and cilantro into a bowl of plain yogurt with some salt for flavor.


The result was pure comfort: a steaming hot, hugely fragrant dish with layers of flavors. The rice was delicate but the meat was savory and offered great bite, and the raita added a creaminess with some satisfying crunchy, fresh flavors from the vegetables within. Consider this a delicious, healthy, and fairly easy alternative for those cooler nights when you want to curl up on the couch with a bowl of something hot and comforting!