Tag Archives: Rasam

Recipes: Kottu Rasam

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Rasam is a favourite with BB & GG and they are happy to have it for every meal. But I don’t make it that often. Having said that, I had not made this Rasam as yet for the children. When I did make it, it was a huge hit. It does not take a long time to make and can be eaten with rice or as a soup. In my home, kottu Rasam is prepared for those who are not well. It is prepared without using dal and is lightly tempered.

Kottu Rasam

Ingredients:

  • 2 large tomatoes
  • 1 tsp ghee
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 5-6 curry leaves
  • 1 tsp crushed ginger and green chilli paste
  • 1 small lemon-sized ball of tamarind
  • 1.5 tsp rasam powder
  • 1 tsp jaggery powder
  • Salt to taste
  • Finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Soak the tamarind in hot water for about 30 minutes. Then crush the tamarind pulp and drain, keeping the tamarind water aside.
  • Either finely chop the tomatoes or use a food processor and crush the tomatoes into fine pieces.
  • In a pan, heat the ghee and when it warms, add the mustard and cumin seeds and let them pop. Then add the crushed ginger and green chillis and stir for a couple of seconds.
  • Now, add the tomatoes, sprinkle some salt and let the tomatoes cook for about five minutes.
  • At this point, add the tamarind water, rasam powder, jaggery powder and any additional salt, if needed.
  • Let this cook for about 5-7 minutes, then switch off the flame. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Notes:

  • This is great as an accompaniment to rice or as a soup.
  • Instead of crushing the tomatoes, you could also use tomato puree for a more soup-like experience.
  • Tamarind paste or lemon juice could be substituted for tamarind water.

Recipes: Pineapple Rasam

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A special variety of Rasam, this one is made usually during weddings and is something we don’t usually make during a normal lunch. I have made this many aeons ago and so this week when I opened a tin of pineapple, I decided to keep aside some to make this yummy rasam.

Rasam is a spicy soup made in south India using tamarind juice, pepper, tomato, cumin and other spices and each household has their own unique recipe which they make on a daily or regular basis. Rasam has a distinct sour, peppery and chilly taste that makes it a true repository of flavours. Rasam is either eaten along with rice or savoured after a meal. The British also adapted this rasam and what is Mulligatawny Soup is nothing more than rasam. In Tamil, this word translates to “Pepper Water”

Rasam prevents constipation, is a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals, facilitates digestion, is rich in antioxidents, helps in weight loss, is an excellent food for patients recovering from illness and the best food when introding babies to solids.

Pineapple Rasam

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup Toor Dal
  • 6 rings of pineapple
  • 1 tsp rasam powder
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 large tomatoes
  • 1 tsp peppercorn
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 4-6 dried red chillies
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Pressure cook the toor dal with 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and enough water till it is soft and mushy. Keep aside.
  • Chop 2 of the pineapple rings into small pieces and keep aside.
  • Chop one tomato into small pieces and keep aside.
  • Powder the cumin seeds, peppercorns and 2 dried chillies into a coarse powder and keep aside.
  • Blend together the balance pineapple slices into a smooth paste and keep aside.
  • Blend the remaining tomato into a smooth paste and keep aside.
  • In a largish pan, mix together the tomato puree, 1 cup water, the remaining turmeric powder and half the quantity of the blended peppercorn, cumin and dried chilli powder and let it start boiling.
  • When it comes to a boil, add the pineapple paste and rasam powder and let it continue to boil. Allow the pineapple paste and tomato puree to cook well.
  • In a separate pan, add the ghee and when the ghee warms up, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add in the red chillies, after breaking them into halves, the asafoetida, rest of the ground pepper-cumin-chilli powder and saute it for 20 seconds
  • Add the chopped pineapple and tomato pieces and saute it for 2 minutes in a medium flame
  • Add the ingredients in the pan to the rasam which has been boiling all along.
  • At this point, add the mushed dal and mix well.
  • Then add 1.5 – 2 cups of water and keep the flame in a medium level until the rasam starts to froth. Finally, garnish with coriander leaves and remove from flame.
  • The delicious and spicy pineapple rasam is ready to serve. Serve with rice and an Indian dry vegetable stir fry.

Notes:

  • If you don’t have access to rasam powder, just omit it, the taste should be just as good.
  • You can also blend together some garlic pods along with the cumin seeds, peppercorns and red chillies for a different taste.
  • This is wonderful as a slightly spicy and tangy soup during the winters.

Recipes: Ginger Pepper Rasam

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GG had been on this Hallyu craze recently and wanted to eat Bingsu at a newly opened shop at the food court near our home. I accompanied her and BB. All I did was take a few bites from them but came down with a sore throat almost immediately! My solution was to make a traditional pepper rasam to which I added some ginger, both which are good for throats. You can also have this as a soothing soup when you are sick or when it is cold and rainy outside.

Ginger Pepper Rasam

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Toor dal, washed and cooked till it is soft and mushy
  • 1 small lime sized tamarind, soaked in hot water for 20-30 minutes and then the juice extracted
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2-3 dried red chillies
  • 1-inch piece of ginger
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 4-5 curry leaves
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida
  • 1/4 tsp jaggery (optional)
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Blend together the peppercorns, dried red chillies, ginger and 1 tsp cumin seeds with 1 tomato into a smooth paste and keep aside.
  • Smoosh the tamarind and drain the water into a pot along with the cooked dal.
  • Chop the other tomato into quarters or eights and drop it into the pan.
  • Boil for a while till the raw smell of the tamarind goes away, around 5-7 minutes.
  • Now add the blended paste along with salt and jaggery and let it boil till the tomatoes are completely cooked. Switch off the gas and start the tempering.
  • In a smaller pan, heat the ghee and when hot, add the mustard and balance cumin seeds. When they pop, add the curry leaves and asafoetida and stir before pouring it into the rasam.
  • Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot as an accompaniment to rice or as a soup

Notes:

  1. If you don’t have jaggery, you can use sugar instead or even omit it completely.
  2. If you don’t have tamarind, you can either use 1 tbsp tamarind paste (which you can get at any Indian store) or use lemon juice. If using lemon juice, add it according to taste at the very end, just before serving.
  3. If you are planning to have this as a soup, omit the dal and follow the rest of the recipe.

Recipe: Mysore Rasam

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IMG_0639This a very typical rasam made in tambram households, yet at the same time, this is not something we usually make on a daily basis. You can call this a version of the arachavitta sambhar, only this is a rasam. In this recipe, you do not use the rasam powder at all, instead of making the masala paste fresh just before you start cooking.

I know of a friend, when she first got married, had a culture shock of sorts as she had to make the paste for sambhar and rasam on a daily basis as her in-laws did not like to use powders for the two items. So what we used to eat on special occasions, she had to cook daily. Now after years of marriage, she has converted her husband to liking rasams and sambhars made with powders, so things are a lot easier for her now.

I made this over the weekend when I was bored of making the same three-four things over and over. It does take a bit of time to make, but the end result is lip-smackingly delicious. You can also drink this as a spicy soup, especially when the weather is cold or rainy.

IMG_0641Mysore Rasam

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup toor dal, washed and cooked until done in a pressure cooker or on the stove. The dal has to be mushy and has to be completely disintegrated
  • 1 small, lime-sized ball of tamarind, soaked in warm water for 20-30 minutes and the pulp squeezed and water extracted. Alternatively, use 2-3 tbsps of tamarind paste
  • 2 tomatoes, quartered and halved again
  • 1 tsp jaggery. You can omit this or substitute brown or white sugar instead
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

To be ground into a paste

  • 4-5 dried red chillies
  • 1 tsp peppercorn
  • 1.5 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp chana dal
  • 2 tbsps grated coconut
  • 1 tbsp ghee

To temper

  • 1 tsp ghee
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 4-5 curry leaves

Method:

  • In a pan, heat the ghee and fry the dried red chillies, peppercorn, coriander seeds and chana dal till they start turning brown. Now add the grated coconut and fry until the coconut loses its moisture and turns brown. You need to keep stirring once you add the coconut, otherwise, the coconut will burn.
  • Cool this and when cool, grind this to a smooth paste and keep aside.
  • In a large vessel, add the tamarind water,  some water to reach the level of sourness you want, the chopped tomatoes, salt and asafoetida powder and let it boil.
  • Boil for a while till the raw smell of the tamarind goes away and then add the mashed dal and let it boil for a couple of minutes more.
  • Now add the blended masala paste and let it boil well till it comes together. Add the jaggery if you are using it this point.
  • The rasam will start frothing and at this point, add around 1/2 cup water and when it starts to boil again, switch off the flame and remove the rasam. Check for seasoning and adjust if needed.
  • In a smaller skillet, heat the ghee and when it is warm, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add the cumin seeds and the curry leaves. Pour this over the rasam. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with hot rice and a vegetable of your choice.

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