Rasam

Rasam is known by the same name in Malayalam and Tamil, while it is called ‘Chaaru’ in Telugu and ‘Saaru’ in Kannada. Rasam is in the lime light these days. The medicinal values of rasam is more in discussion now. Rasam is a classic example of traditional functional food with all its ingredients medicinally claimed for various ailments.

There are many types and variations of Rasam prepared in several households, the recipe i am sharing here is the simple rasam my mother makes at home.

you can either drink it or you can mix it and have with rice. In our home we like to drink as a soup.

Ingredients

Small Onion- 3-4
Green Chilli -1
Garlic - 3
Tomatoes- 2 chopped
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander seeds - 1/2 tspn
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tspn
Peppercorns -1/2 tspn
Chopped coriander leaves-1 handful
Tamarind - small lemon sized 
Water- 2 1/2 cups
Asafoetida- 1/4 tspn
Jaggery - 2tspn
Curry leaves
Salt

Directions

Soak tamarind in hot water for 20 mins and extract its juice and keep aside.
Crush garlic, small onions and  green chilli and keep aside.
Dry roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chilies, and peppercorns, Cool and grind to a fine powder.

Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, When they splutter, Add the crushed garlic mixture,  and curry leaves ,fry it for few second.
Add Tomatoes, Cover and cook for 15 minutes, till the tomatoes are mushy and blended with the rest of the ingredients. add asafoetida, turmeric powder and the spice mixture. add jaggery and Salt to taste. 
Add tamarind water and bring to boil. simmer for 5 min after it comes to boil and switch off the flame
garnish with coriander leaves.