Rasam – A tangy peppery garlicky soup.

This post is part of SADYA VIBHAVANGAL – Learn to make the traditional Kerala Feast- An Artist’s Edible Palette !

A tangy tomato soup spiced up with the pungent taste of garlic, black peppercorns and cumin seeds, and flavored with asafoetida, coconut oil and curry leaves. This can be tailored to suit to personal taste by making it spicy or tangy or garlicky. It is great for digestion as well as to alleviate cough and cold.

Ingredients:- (Approx.)

• 2 cups water
• 1 medium tomato, diced into medium chunks
• ½ tsp tamarind concentrate or a small piece of tamarind soaked in water (use only the water)
• 4 medium cloves of garlic
• 3-4 Indian green chillies
• ½ tsp cumin seeds/jeera
• ½ - ¾ tsp black peppercorns, to taste
• ¼ tsp Asafoetida/kaayam
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ¾ tsp coriander powder

For Seasoning:

• 2 tsp coconut oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 2 dry red chillies
• 1 sprig of curry leaves

For garnish:

• Coriander leaves

Directions:

• In a small deep bowl, boil 2 cups of water with diced tomato chunks, tamarind paste, asafoetida and salt; close it with a lid and let it boil.
• While it is boiling, crush garlic cloves, green chillies, peppercorns and cumin seeds using a mortar and pestle. Add this coarsely crushed garlic, chillies, cumin seeds and peppercorns into the bowl and let it boil.
• When it is boiling, mildly crush the tomato chunks with the back of a spoon, to extract the juices from tomato ( do not crush fully) and add turmeric powder and coriander powder. Let it boil again for 1-2 minutes. Here the heat comes from the green chillies and peppercorns and hence adjust those two ingredients as per your taste. Do a taste test and adjust the flavours and salt and switch off the stove/
• In another shallow pan, heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, dry red chillies and curry leaves and pour this to the deep bowl and garnish with some coriander leaves. Both the herbs, curry leaves and coriander leaves, add a nice aroma to this dish and hence do not omit this.

Luv
Shn

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