True Love is a Steaming Hot Bowl of Rasam.

Dear Foodies & Friends,

FINALLY. After a three-week slump, some introspection and a lot of self motivation (“you will STOP being such a potato”) I’m back on the blog with my favorite recipe in the entire universe! Rasam with steamed rice (and vegetables, but we’ll leave those for a future post or two! 😛 ).

Things here on campus seemed to be heading towards an endless downward spiral. The whole disaster started off with half the girls in our hostel falling sick. None of us could figure out why, but there were likely many causes- the water, and highly unpredictable weather being just a few. Anyway, after spending days in bed, moaning like a zombie, and dressing without a care in the world I was in no mood to confront work and classes. I guess you could say it got a little too overwhelming. Cooking is my favorite form of therapy, and while I have been doing some of it now and then, I didn’t want to put anything up until I really felt like I could give it my all. This is my passion and I really want to be able to do it justice. So I decided that taking a little sabbatical to sort my fuzzy head out wouldn’t be the worst idea. And noooow, back to the FOOD!

Rasam has always been my favorite dish in the entire world. It’s a tangy, mildly spicy soup (for lack of a better word) served with a vegetable side dish (or dishes) and rice. Every time I go home it’s the first thing my mom puts on the table, and it’s absolute perfection. I feel like it’s got some kind of special healing powers; One bowl of rasam when I’m  sick, and things instantly feel so much better. Also, did I mention just how delicious it is? My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Here’s the recipe!

RASAM

• Servings: 2-3
• Time: 45 Min
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Ingredients

1. 3 Tomatoes
2. 1 Teaspoon of tomato paste
3. 1.5 teaspoons of sambar powder
4. 1 Teaspoon of jeera powder
5. 1 Teaspoon of tamarind paste or half a teaspoon of kokum extract
6. Half a cup of cooked yellow toor dal
7. 800 ml of water
8. A few curry leaves
9. A Teaspoon of mustard seeds
10. 1 Teaspoon of jeera seeds
11. A teaspoon of ghee or butter
12. Salt to taste

Directions

STEP 1: Cook the lentils in a pressure cooker, or if like me you don’t have one, then simmer it for ages (approximately 30-45 min) until it’s well cooked and combined.  The lentils cook really quickly in a pressure cooker so do use one if you’ve got it. For the rest of you hostel/student folk, bare with me! This dish is worth all the time it might take.

STEP 2: Add the spices, salt, and chopped tomatoes into a pot along with the water and bring to a boil.  When the tomatoes have broken down and the spices are well combined, pour in the dal and simmer for a further ten minutes.

STEP 3: For the final garnish (tadka), heat the ghee/butter till smoking point, then add the mustard seeds (you know they’re ready when they explode with a popping sound), the jeera and the curry leaves. Pour over the rasam with a few coriander leaves Et voilà! Bon Appétite! 🙂