Kalyana Rasam

As the name suggests this rasam is usually served in most of the "Tam- Brahm" marriages. I always wondered how the rasam served by them are so aromatic. Then one of my cousin told for marriages they grind freshly roasted powder. As usual I got curious and browsed in net to get this recipe. I modified it slightly to suit my taste buds. Though this is a very slight tweak from usual rasam the difference is so huge! A simple potato roast with this rasam could make a satisfying weekend special lunch. Even a roasted papad is enough to enjoy this with steamed rice on a rainy day :).   

PS: I love the combo of this rasam with enna kathrikai and I recoomend readers to try the menu too!!

Kalyana Rasam

Cuisine: Indian Category: Main course Difficulty level: Easy Prep Time: 20 mins Cook time: 10 mins Servings: 4

Ingredients Tamarind 1 inch piece Tomatoes 1 medium sized Thur dal 1 Tbl spoon Salt 1 tsp flat Turmeric A small pinch Coriander leaves 1 spring Ghee 2 Tsp To roast and Grind Thur dal 1 Tsp Dry Red Chili (round chili) 3-4 Pepper 1/4 Tsp Jeera 1/4 Tsp Asafetida A Generous pinch Curry leaves A few To Temper Mustard 1/2 Tsp Jeera 1/2 Tsp Asafetida A Generous pinch Dry red chili 1 Curry Leaves Few leaves Preparation      1.     Soak tamarind in hot water for 15 mins. Pressure cook the dal for 4-5 whistles by adding water in 1:1 ratio. Mash it well. Chop the tomatoes and coriander leaves.

Method             1.     In pan add 1 Tsp ghee and roast the ingredients mentioned. Once the dal turns golden brown cool down and grind the mixture to a coarse powder.      2.     Boil tomatoes with little water. Once they become soft add the tamarind juice along with turmeric and salt. Boil till raw smell off tamarind goes off.     3.     Add 1/2 cup water to mashed dal to make a thin juice. Add this to rasam and boil for few minutes. Finally add the ground powder and mix well. Switch off flame once rasam becomes forthy.     4.     Temper with the ingredients mentioned. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve!!                                            Notes

·         Do not over roast the powder as it may change the colour and taste of the rasam. Saute in medium flame for few minutes.      ·         Stays flavourful even the next day!

Tempering with round red chilies make the rasam look cute right ?? :)  

Basic Rasam with Home made Rasam powder

Rasam is an integral part of south indian lunch. It is very simple and healthy recipe. There are many different types of rasam and each has its unique flavor. During my Korba days mostly we used to return from office around 8 PM. So I used to make rasam very often as it can be prepared in a jiffy. When I told my roommate about my blog her first request was to post rasam recipe. So here goes the recipe Chandhini !

Basic Rasam

Cuisine: Indian Category: Main Course Difficulty level: Easy Prep Time: 10 mins Cook time: 10 mins Servings: 3

Ingredients Tamarind 3 inch piece Tomato 1 medium sized Salt 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder A small pinch Rasam Powder 1 heaped teaspoon Corriander leaves 1 spring For Tempering Ghee 1 teaspoon Mustard 1/2 teaspoon Jeera 1/2 teaspoon Asafoetida A generous pinch Curry leaves 1 spring Preparation     1.     Soak tamarind in hot water for 10 minutes and extract a thin juice. I made 2 cup juice for this tamarind. Chop tomatoes roughly.

Method             1.     In pan add the tomatoes along with 1/2 cup water and little salt. Boil it.     2.  Once the tomatoes become soft and mushy add the tamarind juice, turmeric powder and salt.    3.  Boil till the raw smell of tamarind goes off. Add the rasam powder and mix well.     4.   In one or two minutes the rasam will become frothy. Switch off the flame and transfer to another vessel.     5.  In pan add ghee and once it becomes hot add mustard, jeera, curry leaves and asafetida. Temper rasam and garnish it with coriander leaves.     6.  Serve with steamed rice and any vegetable stir fry or papad. Tastes yummy as such too!!                                         Notes

·         Rasam does not require more tamarind. You can even skip tamarind and use 3 tomatoes.       ·         We usually don prefer adding thur dhal to rasam. If you like that taste add 1 or 2 spoons of mashed thur dhal at last.