Garlicky Peppery Delicious… Rasam

The weather has definitely gone cold here and I can feel Winter fast approaching. Well, with the way temperatures have gone south, it already feels like Winter. These days, it is almost like we have only 2 seasons these days – summer and winter, whatever happened to spring and fall, I wonder! All I want to do these days is to snuggle on the couch with a throw thrown over me and vegetate like a couch potato. For a Wintery day, what is better than having lip-smacking good, peppery rasam!

Rasam is a light lentil-tamarind-tomato based South Indian dish that can be eaten as is like a soup or with rice accompanied with pappadum or a dry veggie side-dish. Rasam is usually a sour dish and its sourness mainly comes from tomato with a little help from tamarind or lemon. Rasam is the go-to dish when you are under a bout of cold or fever, as it is not as lentil-heavy as sambhar and very soothing for the throat.

Grind to a paste:
Black Peppercorn – 1 Tsp
Coriander Seeds – 1 Tsp
Tuvaram Paruppu (Toor Dal) – 2 Tsp
Red Chilli – 1
Jeera – 1 Tsp
Tamarind Paste – 2 Tsp
Garlic – 4 cloves (optional)

In a heavy-bottomed vessel, add a tsp of ghee and mustard seeds; let it splutter. Add the ground paste, salt (start with about a tsp and adjust according to taste), a glass of water and 1 chopped tomato. Let the whole mixture boil well, for about 15 minutes on medium-high or till the raw smell of the spices disappear. Add more water while boiling, so that the consistency is thinner than a regular sambhar.

Voila! Hot, Spicy Rasam that can be had as is like a soup or with rice is ready!