Thursday, February 27, 2014

Jannavi's Tomato Lemon Rasam

This recipe, like the previous one, started with a question posed to the expert, Jannavi - How do I spread my wings a little bit and try for some variety? What follows is a recipe for tomato lemon rasam that can serve 3-4 persons.

My general rules
  • Wash all vegetables before use. 
  • Cut fine; unless otherwise specified (when in doubt cut it finer). 
  • Always add less salt, it is always easier to add more at the end. 
  • Lastly I prefer having all my ingredients in place before cooking to avoid looking for things in a hurry.
Ingredients
  • Two handful of pressure cooked dal of your choice; I used Masoor dal. *
  • 2 tblsps of ghee **. If you do not have ghee, cut 1/2 an inch from a stick of unsalted butter.
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, cut.
  • Half an inch of ginger, finely cut. **
  • 4-5 strands of Coriander leaves, cut.
  • 4-5 curry leaves.
  • 1.5 tsps of Jira.
  • 0.25 tsp of Hing (asafoetida).
  • 0.25 tsp of turmeric powder. **
  • Two handful of Kasuri Methi.
  • 0.50 tsp of salt. ***
  • 3 tblsps of lemon juice.
  • 2 tsps of Rasam Powder. **
  • 3 cups of water. 
Recipe
  1. Pour ghee in a flat bottom pan and set it on a medium fire.
  2. Once the ghee melts, add Jira and roast it.
  3. Add hing, curry leaves, kasuri methi, ginger, and coriander. Heat till you see incipient signs of charring.
  4. Add tomatoes, turmeric, salt, and small amount of water. Close the vessel with a lid and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.
  5. Add cooked dal.
  6. Add 2 cups of water and let it come to a boil.
  7. Add rasam powder. Pour the powder so that it does not clump.
  8. Add the 3rd cup of water and let it come to a boil.
  9. Add lemon juice.
Take it off the fire and pour it into a serving dish.

Customize to suit your palate
  1. * 2 handful, 3 cups of water serves 3 persons easily
  2. ** Add a spoon more of ghee if you like the smell.
  3. ** use 1 Green chili and 0.25 inches of ginger for a milder taste.
  4. ** 1 spoon of rasam powder if you like milder taste.
  5. ** 5 tblsps of lemon juice if you prefer it tangy.
  6. *** After adding water, taste to see if you need more salt.
  7. **** 4 cups of water makes for a runny rasam.
  8. ***** Add 1-2 strands of cut coriander at the end to bring out its fragrance.

Jannavi's Milagu Rasam

During the past 4 days and five nights, Jannavi has had fever, chills, body pain, head ache, congestion, and a cough. She fell to a combination of over exercise, under nourishment, over work, and an unknown virus. She demurs at this description of her ailment.

Jannavi's illness made it necessary for me to flex my cooking muscles. These muscles had severely atrophied as I have not cooked in decades. Even if I am the only one to say so, I was not a bad cook. I remember clearly that my room mates used to look forward for the days when it was my turn to cook.

Now I wanted to make Milagu Rasam; growing up, it was part of one's diet during any illness, minor or major, Besides Jannavi wanted it badly.

I started by asking the expert, Jannavi; how to make milagu rasam. As I was out of practice I made notes on the process and then I decided it write it out formally for future reference. I hope she does not fall sick, but this allows me to be more self-sufficient during her travels. Besides I am not good at improvising. What follows is a recipe for Milagu rasam that can server 3-4 persons.

My general rules
  • Wash all vegetables before use. 
  • Cut fine; unless otherwise specified (when in doubt cut it finer). 
  • Always add less salt, it is always easier to add more at the end. 
  • Lastly I prefer having all my ingredients in place before cooking to avoid looking for things in a hurry.
Note If I cook often and blog about the dishes, one fact would you would notice; the ubiquity of Kasuri Methi in all of Jannavi dishes.


Ingredients
  • Two handful of pressure cooked dal of your choice; I used Masoor dal. *
  • 2 tblsp of ghee **. If you do not have ghee, cut 1/2 an inch from a stick of unsalted butter.
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, cut.
  • Half an inch of ginger, finely cut. **
  • 4-5 strands of Coriander leaves, cut.
  • 4-5 curry leaves.
  • 2 green chili, cut (Thai hot pepper) **
  • 1.5 tsps of Jira.
  • 0.25 tsp of Hing (asafoetida).
  • 0.25 tsp of turmeric powder.
  • 0.5 tsp of coarse ground Black Pepper (I prefer ground over whole). **
  • Two handful of Kasuri Methi.
  • 0.5 tsp of salt ***
  • 3 cups of water ****




Recipe
  1. Pour ghee in a flat bottom pan and set it on a medium fire.
  2. Once the ghee melts, add Jira and roast it.
  3. Add Black pepper, hing, curry leaves, kasuri methi, ginger, and coriander. Heat till you see incipient signs of charring.
  4. Add tomatoes, turmeric, salt, and small amount of water (you could rinse the dish containing the diced tomatoes with a little water. I did). Close the vessel with a lid and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.
  5. Add cooked dal and turmeric.
  6. Add three cups of water and let the mixture boil.
Take it off the fire and pour it into a serving dish *****

Customize to suit your palate
  1. * 2 handful, 3 cups of water serves 3 persons easily.
  2. ** cut the amount of Green chili, Black Pepper, Ginger to suit your taste. The amount specified above would clear sinuses.
  3. *** After adding water, taste the concoction to see if you need more salt.
  4. **** 4 cups of water makes for a runny rasam.
  5. ***** Add 1-2 strands of cut coriander at the end to bring out its fragrance.