Lemon Rasam
Thirteen years ago, I told Nirmala, one of those friends who made school a happy place, that one day I would write The Book of Rasams, and she promised to send me her own nine gems, to get me started. She returned to Vellore, where she lives, a very busy and savvy businesswoman as a distributor of consumer goods , at the end of this rare reunion ( Ani, Nimralla and I talked and laughed and it had seemed as if the years between the those young days and now, were a mere comma punctuating our story! ) .
And I returned to my work, making sure I put my “nose for news” to work and truly deserve my salary as a journalist. A few weeks later, an important looking brown envelope arrived, by post, and in it was a letter from Nimralla, and four pages of computer print-outs . She apologized ! for the delay, and gave me a couple of tasks to do that involved making a couple of phone-calls, arranging a Reiki master for Sharmila, and promised that we would be in touch, whatever happens.
I am mortified to confess I have done precious little about the contents of the brown envelope, and The Book of Rasams remains a figment of my imagination. Although I must say I never lost the envelope or its contents, and here it is now, telling the story of its journey to America, and finally being liberated!
First, the rasam powder
Red chillies — 250 g
Dhaniya (coriander seeds)- 250 g
Tur dal- 2tbsp
Channa dal- 2tbsp
Cumin – 2tbsp
Whole black pepper- 2 tbsp
Asafoetide- a pincREmoved from fire when ith
Dry turmeric 4 sticks
Fenugreek seeds (Optional)- 2 tsp
Pick, clean and dry all the ingredients in the sun, break turmeric into pieces, crush asafoetida. Pound all ingredients together to a fine powder, Store in airtight containers.
Important : The Rasam should never be allowed to boil over. Remove from fire when it begins to boil , add the tempepring and immediately cover. Rasam made in the eeyachombu ( a small, heavy vessel that seems to contain lead, though it is said to be an alloy of tin) give off the best aroma.There is a mystery about the eeyachombu that I mean to crack, but for the nonce, everyone seems to be in great haste to deny that this wonder vessel contains lead.
Now on to the rasams and how to make them.
I Paruppu Rasam
Ingredients
Boiled tur dal- 1/2 cup
Tamarind- lemon-sized ball
Tomato- 1 cut into 8 pieces
Rasam powder- 2 tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Jaggery- marble sized piece
coriander – a sprig
Curry leaves- a few
Tempering- ghee, cumin and mustard
Method: soak tamarind in water and extract pulp. Add salt, asafoetida, turmeric, rasam powder and cook slowly with some water. Add tomato and jaggery. add coriander. Remove from fire when it just begins to boil. Add pureed/mashed dal or just the stock.
Temper using a tsp of ghee to which a 1/2 tsp each of mustard and cumin is added and popped. drop this over curry leaves on top of the rasam and immediately cover with a lid to trap the aroma.
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II .Tomato Rasam
Ingredients
Red tomatoes- 6
Rest of the ingredients are the same as that of paruppu rasam–
Boiled tur dal- 1/2 cup
Tamarind- lemon-sized ball
Tomato- 1 cut into 8 pieces
Rasam powder- 2 tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Jaggery- marble sized piece
coriander – a sprig
Curry leaves- a few
Tempering- ghee, cumin and mustard
Method :Chop and boil the tomatoes in 4 cups of water, and add salt, asafoetida, turmeric, rasam powder and cook slowly with some water. Add tomato and jaggery.. add coriander. Remove from fire when it just begins to boil. Add pureed/mashed dal or just the stock.
Before tempering, sprinkle a 1/4 tsp of freshly crushed pepper. Pour tempering over this for a peppy rasam
Temper using a tsp of ghee to which a 1/2 tsp each of mustard and cumin is added and popped. drop this over curry leaves on top of the rasam and immediately cover with a lid to trap the aroma
III. Garlic Rasam
Ingredients
Pulp from a lemon-sized ball of tamarind- 2 or 3 tsp
Garlic cloves 3 or 4 or more according to taste
Cumin- 1tsp
Pepper- 1 tsp
Rasam Powder- 1 tsp
Salt- to taste
For Tempering:
Ghee 1 tsp
Mustard: 1 tsp
Curry leaves: a few
Method: Boil pounded garlic cloves and tamarind in water, add rasam powder, asafotida and salt . Once the garlic is cooked soft, add crushed pepper and crushed cumin. Don’t let the rasam boil over.
Drop the curry leaves and pour the tempering over it. Cover immediately.
Good for tummy upsets and cold, says Nimralla.
***
IV. Lime Rasam
Ingredients
Boiled and mashed tur dal- 1 cup
Green chillies- 6
Ginger a small piece
turmeric powder- less than 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Tempering:
Ghee- 1/2 tsp
Mustard- 1/2 tsp
Cumin- 1/2 tsp
Finally- the juice of half a lemoon
Method: Crush the chillies and ginger roughly. Cook for a few minutes in water, adding salt. Keep covered as the pungent aroma can cause irritation in the throat. Add dal, and turmeric , add water to get the desired thin consistency. Drop the chopped coriander and curry leaves and the tempering. Top with the lime juice.
V. Cumin Rasam (Jeera Rasam)
Ingredients
Tamarind pulp- from a lemon sized ball of tamarind
Rasam Powder- 2 tsp
Cumin seeds- 2 tsp
turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch
Salt to taste
Curry leaves for garnish
Method: Add tamarind extract, salt, rasam powder, asafoetida, to one cup of water and boil. Add 4 more cups of water and bring to boil. Grind the raw cumin with a little water and add this to the rasam.
Add the tempering of ghee , mustard and curry leaves. Serve hot.
VI. Dal Kofta Rasam
For Kofta
Ingredients
Tur dal- 2 cups
Red chillies – 4
Black pepper- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch
Salt to taste
—
For Rasam
Pulp from a lemon-sized ball of tamarind
ghee- 1 tsp
pepper- a few corns
Salt to tate
Tempering: 1 tsp each of ghee, cumin, mustard, curry leaves.
Method:
The Kofta
Soak tur dal for 2 hours, WAsh, drain and grind to a coarse paste, adding chilllies, pepper, asafoetida, turmeric and salt.
Pour this “batter” into an idli mould and steam (without the weight) for about 5 minutes, till it is half done, and you are able to roll it into lemon-sized balls. Keep aside.
For Rasam
In 4 cups of water, add the tamarind pulp, salt and turmeric. Boil. Add the kofta balls.ad continue cooking till the koftas float to the top.
Grind tur dal, black pepper and cunim with a little water . Add this to the boiling rasam, allow to simmer for a few minutes without boiling, add tempering and curry leaves.
***
VII Pepper Rasam
Ingredients
Tamarind- two lemons-sized.
Pepper- 2 tsp
Curry leaves,
Ghee- 1 tsp
Mustard- 1 tsp
Turmeric, salt asafoetida
Method: Extract tamarid pulp and add to 4 cups of water. Add salt, turmeric, asafoetida. and bring to boil.
When the raw smell goes, add pepper ground to a paste using very little water.Cook for 5 min, Temper with mustard , and curry leaves.
Serve hot.
***
VIII Neem Flower Rasam
During the season, collect the neem flowers , dry in the sun and store in airtight containers.
For the Rasam:
Ingredients
Tamarind- pulp from a lemon-sized ball.
Red Chillies- 2
Asafoetida- a pinch
Jaggery- 1/2 spoon
Curry leaves
Dried Neem Flowers- 1 tsp
Method: Add tamarind, to 4 cups of water. Heat ghee ina kadai, add mustard and chilles broken into smaller bits, neem flower, pour into the tamarind water. Add salt, asafoetida, and jaggery, boill for about 10 min removed and add the curry leaves.
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IX Mysore Rasam
Ingredients
Tur dal – cooked and mashed, 1 cup
Channa dal – 1 tsp
Dry coriander seeds- 2 tsp
Red chillies- 3 or 4
cinnamon- 1 inch
Coconut -fresh grated- 1 tbsp
Jaggery- 1 big lime-sized ball
Tamarind- pulp of one big lime-sized ball
Method: Boil tamarind extract for 5 minutes.Add the dal paste to this water. Roast all the ingredients for masal and the coconut in ghee, adding the coconut last. and remove from stove when the coconut begins to brown. grind to a fine paste and add to the rasam. Add jaggery, chopped coriander. Add the tempering of ghee, mustard, curry leaves and asafoetida.
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RasamNirvana 