Rasam 1 - Pepper Rasam

My MBA School stirs up some strong memories - very good friends and very bad food. Justifiably, I'm still surprised when one of those very good friends says, "I want to make Rasam, XIME style" Uh. Ok. But there are also memories from childhood, from when my Grandmom would force a big glass of this down my throat the minute I started to cough. Angana, here's a tastier, authentic South Indian variation. I hope it helps you beat the Switzerland cold also :)

You will need

3 large, fresh red tomatoes - very finely chopped or boiled and crushed by hand.

3 large cloves garlic, smashed once with a knife

2 pinches black pepper (or you can take it upto 1 teaspoon if you like it spicy) (available in most Indian stores)

1 pinch turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon Rasam powder (optional, if available, but pepper usage needs to be monitored)

10 curry leaves or 1 tablespoon cilantro/dhaniya patta, chopped

1 teaspoon tamarind paste OR juice of 1 lemon (I prefer lemon for pepper Rasam)

1 teaspoon light cooking oil or ghee

1 large pinch cumin seeds.

Salt to taste

Preparation:

1) Heat oil/ghee and add cumin seeds. When they swell, add the garlic and stir.

2) When the garlic starts changing color, add chopped tomatoes and salt and fry till tomatoes start cooking. If using boiled tomatoes, see step 3

3) When the garlic starts changing color, add the tomatoes and stir for 30 seconds on high.

4) Add the turmeric powder

5) Add about 600 ml of water, and salt if required. If using tamarind paste, add it now.

6) Let the Rasam boil for about 5 minutes, and add the pepper powder. Boil for another minute.

7) Add the lemon if using.

8) Finish with curry leaves/chopped cilantro leaves.

9) Serve hot with rice, or on its own as soup.

Note: Traditional Rasam uses cooked and mashed lentils (dal) as a binder. 1 tablespoon can be added to this version as well, but Pepper Rasam is more watery than the regular Rasam.

(Image Courtesy: rakskitchen.net)

Potato in Onion Gravy (dry)

Telugu : Alugadda ulipaayi khaaram koora.
Helpings: ~4

Ingredients:
a) Potatoes (half a pound baby potatoes OR 3 large ones), steamed/boiled and peeled.
b) 3 large onions, chopped
c) 10-12 dried red chilli
d) cumin seeds
e) mustard seeds
f) cooking oil (I use sunflower oil for ALL Indian cooking. You may substitute with palm or groundnut, but avoid sesame or mustard oils unless mentioned)

Procedure:
1) Roast red chillies till hard and brittle in a dry wok. Grind to a slightly rough powder.
2) Heat half the oil and add cumin seeds. Add onions after they pop. Add salt when onions start turning white.
3) Add onion/cumin to the chilli powder and grind again to a rough paste-like consistency. Avoid adding water, or max 2 tablespoons if required.
4) Heat the rest of the oil and add mustard seeds. Add the paste once they pop. Fry lightly for a min on medium.
5) Add baby potatoes / potato pieces and fry on lkow (without covering wok) for 10 mins.

Goes best with rice, but I think its nice with Roti too.