Paruppu Rasam / Tomato Rasam

To serve 4/5 persons

Ingredients:

1. Tamarind: Size of a big lemon
2. Tomato: 1 (Big) – Preferably Bangalore Tomato
3. Rasam powder : 2 tbsps / Sambhar Powder: 1.5 tbsp (in case there is no separate Rasam powder)
4. Salt
5. Toor Dal: 50 gms
6. Asafoedita
7. Ghee
8. Mustard: 1 tsp
9. Curry Leaves, Coriander Leaves
10. Turmeric Powder: A pinch
11. Pepper Powder & Jeera Powder: A pinch
12. Water

Preparation Procedure:

1. Add tamarind to warm water (say 300 ml) and extract juice.
2. Smash Tomato and take the tomato juice as well and mix it with the tamarind extract.

(You may choose to extract tomato juice from half the tomato and the remaining half tomato cut it in to small pieces and add it to the tamarind tomato water)

3. Add Salt, Rasam Powder, turmeric Powder, few curry leaves & Asafoedita and heat it till Rasam powder smell vanishes… say 15 mins..
4. Separately cook the toor dal by adding water (in a cooker )
5. Take the cooked dal, smash it very well and add water (say 200 ml) to the smashed mix such that no dal appears floating and the water is a pure dal water…

(Rasam essentially contains the ‘saaru’ from dal and hence referred to as Saar, Satramudhu by some communities…Do not add cooked dal as such without mashing, this is very essential for Rasam to taste good..)

6. Add this dal water to the boiling mixture
7. In a kadai, add 2 to 3 tsps ghee, add mustard and while it splutters, add asafoedita and a pinch of pepper and jeera powder..
8. Add coriander leaves liberally and when the Rasam starts boiling , switch off the stove..

Hot yummy steaming Rasam ready…..  

Tastes well esp if you eat it with Vadaam (Vadagam/vathal) J