Mysore Rasam

I have a great liking for soups generally, because it can be made from almost anything. You can toss in any kind of vegetable or meat along with some basic spices and you will have a nice pot of soup. Many times it serves as a light & quick meal for me. The only disadvantage is- its a little time consuming. Thats why I am particularly fond of rasams, because they are much easier and quicker to make and still gives a similar "soupy" feeling.. Growing up, I remember my parents drinking rasams at the end of the meal, in glasses as hot beverages. It intimidated me and wondered how can anyone enjoy such a steaming hot, highly spiced drink. But it makes sense now. The flavor is irresistible and drinking in glasses is indeed a great way to enjoy rasam!

There are a variety of traditional rasams popular across the states of south india. Its an everyday cooking in almost all households in Tamilnadu. Modern cooking uses readymade Rasam powder available from stores. I however prefer using freshly ground spices rather than a prepared powder, but rasams made from rasam powders come out just fine.

My sister told me about this great recipe for Mysore rasam. She is a doctor in India, and is a great cook as well. She passed on this recipe to me and told that this rasam comes out great for her everytime. I tried this today and she was right! Its made from a tomato base and other mild spices. I have no idea why its called so, but I'm guessing (like everyone else!) may be it originated from Mysore.

Ingredients

• Tomato-4 nos
• Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp
• Tuvar dal water -1 cup (clear water after cooking the lentils)
• Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
• Chilly powder-1/2 tsp
• Pepper powder-1/2 tsp
• Ccumin seed powder-1 tsp
• Coriander leaves-1 cup
• Curry leaves-one handful
• Ghee-2tsp

Procedure

• To make the lentils stock, pressure cook tuvar dal with 3 cups of water and drain the water separately.
• Dissolve the tamarind paste in 1 cup of water. Add turmeric powder chilly powder and salt.Boil this for 5 mins.
• Then add the tomato puree (prepared by cooking the tomatoes, peeling off the skin and grinding it to a thick paste) and boil for 5mins.
• Now add the dal water (paruppu thanni), pepper powder, cumin powder, coriander leaves. Allow it to boil for 5 mins.
• Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a separate pan, Seasos with 1 tsp of cumin seeds and add it to the rasam. Boil for a min and turn off heat.

Enjoy with plain rice and papad! You can also serve this as a soup by making a slightly less spicier version.

Orange Rasam

Have you ever experienced this? You find this interesting recipe in a cookbook.... and you are in a cooking mood. You open your pantry & fridge and you have whatever you need! You start cooking by adding your special touches... and it comes out as a master-piece. How exciting! I get so thrilled that I immediately share with my friends & family...

This is one of those recipes... Just for the sake of trying something new, I tried this from one of the magazines.. and it was a pleasant surprise! It came out awesome and we all just loved it... Many of my friends have tasted this and have appreciated the taste.. I felt that the sweet and tangy flavours of tamarind juice and orange juice is a distinctive combination... and brings a fresh flavor.

Ingredients

Tamarind Paste - 1 tsp

Tomato Puree - 1/2 cup
Cooked Paasi paruppu (split moong dal) - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Garlic - 2 cloves (smashed)

Orange Juice - 1 cup (Any store bought juice should be just fine)

Corriander leaves - handful (chopped)

To Dry Roast:
Red Chilly - 1
Black Pepper corns - 1/2 tsp
Corriander Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

For Seasoning:

Mustard Seeds - 1tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - handful

Procedure:
1. In a kadai, dry roast red chilly, pepper corns, corriander seeds and cumin seeds and blend them to a powder.
2. Mash the cooked dal well .
3. In a large vessel, mix the tamarind paste, tomato puree , dal, turmeric & salt.
4. Add 3 cups of water and dilute it.
Tip: You can use plain water and water drained from the cooked dal in a fift-fifty ratio. Just add extra water while cooking the dal. This will enhance the flavor of the rasam.
5. Now heat 1 tsp oil in a kadai, season with mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds.
6. Add the above liquid mixture and let it boil.
7. When it just starts boiling, add the powder and Orange juice... Let it boil for 2 mins..
8. Garnish with corriander leaves. Enjoy with Plain rice..