Any south Indian meal will not add flavour without Rasam. There are different types of Rasam like tomato, neem flowers, lemon, garlic, etc. For any rasam preparation, you need a basic Rasam powder. Take a cup for measurement.
Ingredients: Dhaniya – 1 cup, Jeerakam – 25 gms, Pepper – 5 gm, Turmeric (long viral manjal) - 3 pieces, Dry red chilly -3 cups, Toor dhal (thuvaram paruppu) – 2 spoons, Mustard – 1 pinch, Fenugreek (vendhayam) – 1 spoon.
Under hot sun, dry the above ingredients on a plate. For urgency, dry roast on kadai. Grind this in flour mill, keep powder in airtight bottle. Basic rasam powder is ready. In hotels, they add lot of sombu but this will spoil the aroma of traditional Rasam.
Preparation : (For 4 people):
Take a small lemon size of tamarind and soak in water, squeeze and make juice. Boil 100 gm of Toor dhal (Thuvaram paruppu). In a vessel, take 2 tomatoes and cut into pieces. Add a bit of solid or powder (asafetida- perungayam). Take 1 tablespoon of Rasam powder and salt according to taste and quantity. Pour tamarind juice into the vessel, boil for 5 minutes. To this add a half cup of boiled toor dhal. Dilute the mix and allow it to boil till rasam rises up and foams. Now add coriander & curry leaves. Finally (thaalippu) sauté mustard seeds with jeerakam in ghee and add to the rasam. Tomato rasam is ready. Options: Instead of Tomato you can use dry neem flowers, fry in ghee and mix in rasam before serving. Instead of tomato or neem, crush 2-3 garlic and put into rasam when it boils. Lemon rasam: In the above steps, don’t add tamarind juice, instead squeeze a big lemon and switch off. If you add juice and boil for a long time, it will turn bitter.
