Back home, Rasam was a staple in my mom's everyday cooking. Be it the hump day or a special Sunday, you are sure to see fluffy white rice and tangy rasam on the table at lunch.
Here's how my mom makes it.
Ingredients:
Here's how my mom makes it.
Ingredients:
- tamarind - a small lime sized ball
- tomatoes - 1 medium roma
- cilantro / kothumalli - 5 sprigs
- pepper corns - 1 teaspoon
- cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
- garlic pods / poondu pal - 4
for seasoning / thalippu:
- mustard seeds
- cumin seeds
- asafetida - a pinch
- curry leaves / kariveppilai - 1 or 2 sprigs
- dried red chili - 1
- gingelly oil
- Prepare tamarind water.
- If the tomato is firm, soak it in 1 cup of warm water. When it is pliable, coarsely chop the tomato.
- Wash and dry curry leaves and cilantro on a paper towel.
- In a spice grinder or the smallest jar of your mixer, coarsely grind the ingredients listed under "to grind".
- On medium heat, warm gingelly oil in a sauce pan / kadai. When hot, add mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, dried red chilli and asafetida.
- Add tomato and a sprinkle of salt. The salt will help soften the tomato quickly.
- Wait for a couple of minutes. The tomato pieces should have turned mushy by now. Add the ground spices to the above.
- Add tamarind water to the pan and let this mixture simmer at a boil for 3-5 minutes.
- Taste the rasam at this stage and adjust salt and water per your taste.
- Remove from heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve hot over fluffy white rice. Pairs well with microwave appalam.
The above rasam is a little like the everything bagel. It could be considered a mix of poondu rasam , tomato rasam and milagu rasam. Mom just prefers to have the goodness of all three in 1 dish.
Up the amount of black pepper corns in the recipe and it becomes a very soothing dish for sore throat or heavy cold.
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