Mysore Chaaru

Lentils cooked in Tamarind & freshly ground spices
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Dear Foodies,

Mysore chaaru or Mysore rasam is one of my favourites, and is perfect for a cold winter night. I'll be posting the recipe in the evening, hopefully in time for your dinner :-)

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Mysore Chaaru
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This rasam was a regular at our home and more often than not it would feature on the Saturday menu. Why you ask ? Well, we usually had tiffins for dinner on Saturday's, and this rasam can be a standalone meal with just papads or vadiyum to accompany it. A simple aloo fry or any veggie, steam cooked and then stir fried along with some tadka, go very well with this dish. ( I used radish this time) And so it was ideal for an afternoon lunch with no leftovers for dinner and no worries for mummy too :-) .

This rasam has a wonderful medley of spices with pepper being the main source of 'heat' in the recipe, and this gives the warmth in the body when savored on a cold night. You can add a dried red chilli to the spice mix if needed. The rasam is also slightly thicker than the usual rasam but thinner than sambar. The freshly ground spices give a very distinct flavor to the the rasam, making the meal satisfying to the soul and the body. Do try it out and enjoy the winter night :-)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup - Toor dal, boiled and mashed lightly

• 1 key lime sized ball - Tamarind, soaked in water and pulp extracted

• 2 nos - Tomatoes, slit into four portions.

for spice powder:

• 1 tsp - Cumin seeds

• 1/2 tsp - Coriander seeds

• 1 tsp - Pepper

• 1 Tbsp - Toor dal

• 1/2 Tbsp - Channa dal

• 1 1/2 tsp - Coconut flakes or fresh coconut

for popu/tadka:

• 1 tsp - Ghee

• 1 tsp - Cumin seeds

• 4-5 nos - Curry leaves

• Coriander leaves for garnish

Method:

1. Heat some oil, roughly about 1 tbsp, in a wide pan and toast the ingredients under the spice powder one after the other. The coconut can be added after the stove is switched off, as it needs very little heat else, it might burn. Allow them to cool.
   
2. In a vessel, pour in the tamarind extract, 2 cups of water, salt and the slit tomatoes. Allow it to boil.
3. In the meantime, powder the spices, add some of the tamarind extract to aid in grinding if required.
4. Add this spice mixture to the boiling tamarind water and continue to simmer.
5. Once the raw smell is gone add in the mashed dal and again bring it to a boil. Add another cup or half of water if needed. I generally take out the tomato pieces for a moment and mash them throughly at this stage.
6. Once the dal gets harmonized with the spices and tamarind turn off the heat.
7. Add the popu done in ghee and serve hot with rice and vadiyam/veggies.