Rasam powder

Dear Foodies,

As promised, I finally managed to get the recipe for rasam powder from my mom and successfully noted down the ingredients so I don't mess them up here. I have never made rasam or sambar powder for myself until now. I get my stock renewed when I go home or my mom parcels it out to me. This time though she made it fresh right here in my kitchen :)

It could be because of the familiarity of flavors, but when I am looking for the comforting taste, only the rasam/sambar made from my mom's powder does the trick. I have used MTR's sambar powder a few times and I find its definitely better than a few other brands I tried. But making the powder isn't tough at all. You could make a decently portioned amount of powder and store it in a ziploc bag or airtight container that seals its freshness. I usually store the powders in a section of my fridge and extract tiny portions to store in my spice rack when needed. If you don't make rasam frequently at home then you could easily size it down too to serve a few meals. The extra minutes you spend making it will be generously rewarded through flavor. You also get a chance to tailor it to suit your tastes.

Here is my mother's recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup - Dhania/ coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp - Miriyalu/ whole Peppercorns
• 1 tsp - Jeera/ Cumin seeds
• 1 tsp - Chana dal
• 1 tsp - Toor dal
• 1/2 -1 tsp - Red chilli powder (optional)

Method:

• Dry roast all the ingredients one after the other, until they slightly change colors and release their aroma. (except chilli powder ofcourse)
  
• Cool them on a plate for a few minutes and ground to a fine powder. Add chilli powder and mix. Store in a dry, airtight container/bag.

Here is a recipe for tomato chaaru/rasam using this powder.

Dhania is the main ingredient in the rasam powder which is then followed by pepper in quantity. Dhania has been known for its positive effects on the digestive system and is a carminative. It soothes the system and finds itself being used to relieve indigestion (pepper also aids in this) and flatulence. You can read more about this seed at its wiki page. Infact both coriander and tamarind act as appetite stimulants thus helping you eat a little more of that delicious payasam and scrumptious vada at the end of a lengthy festival meal ;) Now you know why they enticingly place the imli ki chutney along with the appetizers at restaurants, it gets the digestive juices flowing getting you all set to pounce on the main menu :)

The dals are added to lend support to the powder and increase in their quantity will lead to a very thick rasam. My mother does not salt her rasam powder, she prefers adding it while making the rasam based on the quantity and type of rasam made, same practice for hing/asafoetida too. Using these as a guideline, I am sure you can size down the recipe to your needs. So try this version if you are in mood for a change and come back to tell me if you liked it :)

How is your family recipe different from mine ?

Have a nice weekend all!

Tomato Rasam/chaaru

Update: See previous post to read why the bowl might have cracked.

Dear foodies,

Every meal at home consisted of a vegetable side dish which was steam cooked/stir fried/chutney and then a lentil-based dish like sambar/kootu/pappu(dal) and then a light rasam/chaaru and it finally ended with some curd/buttermilk. There would then be variations of this menu based on the vegetables available and our moods, but the underlying pattern would remain. You need vegetables for your vitamins and nutrients, lentils for your proteins and, rice for carbs.

For instance, when my mom makes majjiga pulusu, it will either have lentil dumplings in it or would be paired with usili to balance out the absence of lentil. Similarly if we were having a tamarind based pulusu it would have a kandipappu oorpindi for company and a mysore chaaru, which has relatively more dal than your usual chaaru, would be paired with simple stir fries without additional sambar. If eaten right, you end up having a lot more vegetables than rice. The combinations like this are just endless.... isn't this a smart way of having a balanced meal every single day. Almost all combo's go by a similar mantra, well almost, I cannot place this into one :D

During my mom's stay here she cooked like this every single day, and had it all done by 7:30am so I could pack my lunch!! While I would make any ONE dish from the entire spread and call it a meal by itself!

Rasam/chaaru has been an integral part of the meal, it also shares the title for 'a comforting meal' with a few others. Rasam usually has a souring ingredient as its base which is then flavored with some dal water and spices, mainly pepper and coriander seed. It aids in digestion and a cup of warm rasam is super comforting when the weather is cold or if you are hit by cold/fever. The sourness for the rasam can come from tomatoes, tamarind, lime juice or mangoes. I have also seen recipes with pomegranate, pineapple and kokum as their base, though we never used them at home. The dal water needed for the rasam is the water in which the toor dal is boiled. The cooked toor dal is mashed and as the dal settles to the bottom, the lightly flavored water on the top is ladled out to make the rasam and the remaining dal is used in sambar or pappu.


Here is a recipe that uses mainly tomatoes and a hint of tamarind

Ingredients:

• 2-3 nos- ripe tomatoes, medium sized
• 2 cups - dal water
• 1 Tbsp - rasam powder (recipe coming up)
  
• pulp from a marble sized tamarind ball
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
  
• 4-6 coriander stalks with leaves, tied together with a twine or use just the leaves
  

• 1 tsp ghee (recommended, if not, use oil)
• a pinch of hing/asafoetida
  
• 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds (optional)
  
• 2-3 curry leaves

Method:

• Microwave 1 1/2 cup of water for a minute with the tamarind and extract the pulp (or use a tsp of tamarind extract). Wash and quarter the tomatoes.
• Place a saucepan on medium heat and add the tamarind water, tomatoes, rasam powder, turmeric, salt and coriander leaves. Bring it to a boil and simmer until the raw smell of the rasam powder subsides and the tomatoes turn to a mush.
  
• Mash the tomatoes with the back of your ladle or if you choose so, fish them out to another bowl, remove the skin, and mash them a little before adding them back to the rasam water
  
• Now add the dal water and let it simmer, you will see a slight foam on top after a few minutes indicating that the rasam is ready. In the meanwhile get the tadka ready, heat the ghee and splutter the jeera, add the curry leaves and when the begin to crackle add the asafoetida, toss it into the rasam and cover with a lid until ready to serve.
  
• Enjoy with warm rice or on it own in a glass.

The tadka for rasam in always in ghee and jeera, while for sambar its with oil and mustard seeds at my place. The coriander leaves are a must have for a good rasam. The pepper and coriander seeds in the rasam powder are sharp and soothing in their own way while the ghee mellows out the flavors and comforts your throat. The pepper rasam is coming up, but I'll bring you my mom's recipe for the rasam powder next...

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.
   

Lime-Ginger Rasam

Dear Foodies,


I'm back after vanishing for quite sometime and I guess this is going to go on until I get out of school ! :-( I havent been taking any pictures of the food I am cooking either and so I have been nagging my mother more than ever to send me photos and recipes :-)

Here is a wonderful rasam recipe from her.This rasam is refreshingly different from the rest, it does not call for any tamarind or rasam powder. Yes...NO rasam powder needed :-). So when you get bored of the sambar/pulusu/usual rasam recipes that use tamarind as the base, then do give this one a try. It is also one of my favourite rasams and soo all the more hype ;-)

Ingredients:

for rasam:

• 2 nos - Ripe Tomatoes, halved

• 4 nos - Green Chillies

• 2 nos - 1 inch piece of crushed Ginger

• 1 no - Lime or 2 Tbsp lime juice

• 1 sprig - Curry Leaves

• 1/2 cup - Coriander leaves
  

• 1 cup - Toor dal, boiled and mashed

• Salt to taste

for seasoning:

• 1 tsp - ghee

• 1 tsp - Mustard seeds

• 1 tsp - Jeera/Cumin seeds

Procedure:

1. Boil one cup of toor dal and mash it well once cooked.
2. In a vessel, add 3 cups of water and toss all the rasam ingredients except the dal and lime juice and curry leaves( i.e tomatoes, crushed ginger,coriander, chillies and salt)
3. Bring the rasam to a boil, the tomatoes would have lost shape by this time.
4. Add in the cooked dal now and mix well to get rid of lumps and bring the rasam to a boil again. You could add a lil rasam powder now if you want.
5. In a separate pan, heat the ghee and add in the mustard seeds and jeera and a few curry leaves. Once the seeds start popping add it to the rasam.Also add in the juice of one lime or its equivalent.
6. Serve hot with rice or enjoy it as a soup :-)

And now this hot rasam is off to Anthony's Curry Mela