Sheri is feeling miserable from her cold, so we went out for comfort food tonight at the nearby Indian restaurant. She had the lamb curry again, and I had the lamb masala. Both were excellent.

Both dishes comes with a bowl of rice, a basket of naan (Indian flat bread), one poppadum (crispy wafer made from chick peas), and five sides.

One of the sides was a dessert called rasgulla. These are small balls made of fresh cheese that are steamed and then soaked in sugar-water flavored with rose essence. It sounds weird, but when Mom and Dad came to visit and I took them to an Indian buffet, even though Dad was stuffed from the meal, I think he went back for seconds and thirds of the rasgulla. I never would have guessed they are made from cheese. It seems more like a dense doughnut.

The other sides were:
• Spicy lentil soup (believe it or not, Sheri's favorite!)
• A savory cauliflower and potato dish. My favorite.
• Cucumber raita (a nice cooling and rich yogurt sauce)
• Another dish that I am not quite sure what it was, but it had a good amount of garlic, and was probably something like eggplant or beans in a food processor. Very good.

Indian food is the best comfort food in the world. Sheri was in a noticeably better mood when we left. Smiling and laughing. She said an Indian meal gives her almost the same feeling as an endorphin pepper high. I agree with her, but I am not sure why it makes us feel that way. The food this evening was spicy, but not hot-spicy. Not like buffalo wings or hot salsa. Maybe it's because Indian food always seems like home-style cooking, so it makes you feel good. You can imagine a little Indian grandmother in the back that has been cooking all day.