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Curd Rice

It had been one of those days where there had been long and mentally exhausting. The kind of day that makes me reconsider my position on retirement. Since I work from home, I like taking a few minutes to put my lunch together and on a good day sit by the window in the living room to eat it. It is a minor pleasure but it sets the tone for how I feel about my day and over time it impacts my mental well-being. This particular day I could not even recall what I had had for lunch and was thinking about what do do about dinner. In times of stress I auto-default to curd rice served warm. This is a fix that never fails to settle the mental upset I might be feeling. If that is not the definition of comfort food, then I don't know what is. 

My earliest memory of this dish goes back to childhood, a friend's mother who often served it if I showed up around lunch time to play with my buddy. A few years later, I replicated the dish on my own amazed by how simple it the process was. Fresh out of college, living independently for the first time I relied on my tried and tested comfort food a great deal - it made me feel competent in a way few other things did at the time, I had about ten years of experience preparing this dish which was a big deal. I had acquired a reputation among those who had tried my curd rice. I cannot recall how many people I have converted to fans of my favorite comfort food - J is one of them ofcourse. When she visits me on breaks from college, this is one of the first things she asks for. It serves as a reset to baseline and home for her. For me it is a way to reconnect with my kid who is now a grown woman.

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