When you've got a yen for comfort there's nothing like Mother's cooking

Growing up, nothing brought our family of seven closer than mom's cooking.

My sisters and I often gathered in the kitchen, each person performing a different task to help as my mother, Shyamala Krishnamurthy, prepared three meals a day.

Her evening snack recipes — typically savory and fried Indian treats — would be devoured like hot cakes almost as soon as they came off the fire. They are what I crave and request most even today whenever my 74-year-old mom visits.

One such treat, aloo bonda — involving spicy mashed potato dumplings fried up in batter — is my all-time favorite for its simplicity and delectable taste.

Here are some fun facts about Indian cuisine staples.

Potatoes are indigenous to South America, not South Asia. Tuber crops were introduced to the subcontinent by the Portuguese and later were promoted during the 17th century by the British East India Company, which provided incentives to Indian farmers to encourage their cultivation.

Since then, potatoes have become standard fare playing starring and supporting roles in a variety of Indian regional cuisines, such as masala dosa in South India and aloo dum in the Northern and Eastern regions.

Among the most prominent native Indian spices is turmeric, which has been used for thousands of years for culinary and health purposes. Today, turmeric is more widely marketed for its medicinal properties and health benefits — it contains curcumin, a substance with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

A subtle ingredient in this and most South Indian recipes is asafoetida (or hing) powder — a gum resin extracted from large, carrot-shaped roots of the Ferula plants. It has a strong, pungent odor due to a high concentration of sulfur compounds and has been used in traditional medicine for centuries.

In Ayurvedic medicine, asafoetida is used to aid digestion and gas, and treat bronchitis and kidney stones.

Check out this brief history of Indian cuisine in the New World Encyclopedia, newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Indian_cuisine.

A few years ago, as a way of preserving mom's traditional recipes for the family and future generations, I helped her set up a food blog, Amma's Kitchen, on Blogger.com.