A 15-minute, five-ingredient childhood favorite

Priya Krishna's headily spiced everyday dal is essential comfort food.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story April 3, 2024 David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. A 15-minute, five-ingredient childhood favorite By Melissa Clark Every culture has its comfort dishes, the ones with powers to calm the frazzled, succor the ailing and mollify the homesick. Chicken soup and blintzes with cottage cheese and cinnamon sugar whisk me right back to my Brooklyn Jewish childhood, and I still regularly self-medicate with both of them. For Priya Krishna, it's a fragrant, bubbling pot of her mother's dal. Across South Asia and its diaspora, Priya writes, dal exemplifies one of her favorite Hindi terms, "ghar ka khaana," which means home food — unfussy meals linked to childhood that are at their most satisfying when made in your own kitchen. Featured Recipe Everyday Dal View Recipe → Her mother's recipe for a five-ingredient everyday dal is ready in 15 minutes, but it's full of complex flavor from the chhonk, or tempering, made from ghee-toasted cumin, asafetida and red chile that you pour into the pot before serving. You don't need to have grown up with it: Serve it with roti or over rice, and let yourself be soothed. A big bowl of pasta can also be comforting, especially this one from Lidey Heuck. Lidey's clever move is to add earthy, nutty chickpeas to the traditional Italian combination of pasta with sausage and broccoli rabe. Then, she takes it a step further by stirring Parmesan, butter and lemon into the pan to balance the flavors and add body to the sauce. Her recipe is flexible, too. Substitute broccoli or other study greens for the broccoli rabe, and use any kind of sausage or shape of pasta you have on hand. Maybe make it once according to the recipe, then let yourself play. Dishes like this are the most fun to adapt and tough to get wrong. I hear it's already asparagus season in many parts of the country, though it's still weeks away in New York. If you've got some, it'll find a happy home in my asparagus, goat cheese and tarragon tart, which is elegant yet straightforward to make with a package of puff pastry. Don't worry, tarragon-avoiders: You can use any soft herb (basil, mint, cilantro) instead. Serve the dish on its own, with a springy green salad as a light meal, or as a fancy appetizer in a multicourse feast. Are you looking for something simple and light for a midweek main? Any kind of white-fleshed fish filet works well in Ali Slagle's delightfully minimalist recipe for baked tilapia. The mix of melted butter, chopped parsley, garlic and lemon is timeless and forgivingly versatile. Finally, for dessert, is there anything more soothing than tea with cake? How about tea in your cake? Samantha Seneviratne's Earl Grey tea cake with dark chocolate and orange zest has a subtle floral scent that comes from the loose tea leaves stirred into the buttery cake batter, with a moist, tender crumb speckled with chopped dark chocolate. Serve a pot of Earl Grey tea with it and watch your troubles disappear, at least for a moment. You'll certainly want to subscribe to get all the recipes at New York Times Cooking (and thank you if you already do). If you need any technical assistance, you can send an email to the genius minds at cookingcare@nytimes.com. And I'm at hellomelissa@nytimes.com if you want to say hello. David Malosh for The New York Times. Food stylist: Simon Andrews. Yasmin Fahr's skillet chicken with apricots ticks all the boxes for a thrilling one-pan meal. Simmered with white wine, ginger, dried apricots and spices, the boneless, skinless chicken thighs cook quickly, taking on the rich flavors of the pan sauce. Baby spinach is then wilted in at the end, rounding everything out. Serve it with crusty bread for a colorful, speedy weeknight wonder. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Pasta With Spicy Sausage, Broccoli Rabe and Chickpeas By Lidey Heuck 30 minutes Makes 4 to 6 servings Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Tarragon Tart By Melissa Clark 1 hour Makes 6 to 8 servings Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Baked Tilapia By Ali Slagle 30 minutes Makes 4 servings Yossy Arefi for The New York Times (Photography and Styling) Earl Grey Tea Cake With Dark Chocolate and Orange Zest By Samantha Seneviratne 1 hour, plus chilling Makes 8 to 10 servings Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Michelle Gatton. Prop stylist: Amy Wilson. The Greenest Green Salad Recipe from Jessica Battilana Adapted by Samin Nosrat 20 minutes Makes 4 to 6 servings Sign up for the Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter Fresh dinner ideas for busy people who want something great to eat, with NYT Cooking recipes sent to you weekly. Get it in your inbox Sign up for The Veggie newsletter Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties. Get it in your inbox Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Cooking from The New York Times. To stop receiving Cooking, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. 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