I had soaked and ground the ingredients for idli batter yesterday, and was all prepared to have a fairly lazy supper of idlis, sambar and coconut chutney tonight. What could be more delicious?
However, then I remembered that my Nan was due to come over for the day. Now, Nan is great with most foods and will try everything we cook at least once. However, she is not that great with chillies, and I like my sambar to have a bit of a kick to it.
So I hatched a plan. I would make a delicious batch of sambar with okra, butternut squash and radish in it for myself, my Dad and my Mum. And then I would also make some rasam that my Nan could also enjoy - deliciously spicy but chilli free. My Mum provided a wonderful dish of aloo palak, also mildly spicy for the whole table.
We ended up with the kind of meal that just needed rice instead of idlis and some yoghurt and pickles to be a full blown meal! Unfortunately, I forgot to make the coconut chutney in the end, as it was my Dad's birthday and we nipped across the road to the pub for a celebratory drink! (Side note: Incidentally, I don't drink, but I do enjoy an unusual but delicious combination of coke with a bit of blackcurrant syrup in it!). Nevermind, the meal was wonderful, and I will share my rasam recipe, that you can make fiery or non-fiery as you please!
Ingredients:
For the rasam base
1/4 cup toor dal
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
A small (as in Indian-size) lemon size ball of tamarind
3 medium size tomatoes, chopped fairly small
Salt, to taste
A little chopped fresh coriander
For the spice powder
1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon channa dal
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Dried chillis to taste (depending on how fiery you want it - leave out completely if you wish)
For the tarka
Oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 dried red chillies (leave out if you like)
A handful of curry leaves
Put the toor dal and the turmeric in a saucepan with plenty of water. Rasam should be light and brothy, so top up the water during the cooking process if necessary to achieve this consistency. Bring to the boil and cook until the dal is soft and broken down.
Meanwhile, soak the tamarind in hot water till soft. Push through a seive to extract as much paste as possible, leaving the stones and fibre behind. Set aside. Toast the spices for the spice powder in a small dry pan until they turn a shade darker and become fragrant. Cool a little, then grind to a powder.
When the dal is cooked, add the chopped tomatoes and salt. Cook until the tomatoes are tender, then add the tamarind and prepared spice powder. Cook for a few minutes until the tamarind has lost its raw taste and the flavours are well-blended. Turn off the heat.
Heat the oil for the tarka in a small pan. When hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin and the chillies, if using. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the curry leaves and stir and fry for a few moments longer. Pour into the rasam and mix. Allow to sit for a few minutes so that the flavours can sink in. Then add the chopped coriander and serve.
Whether you use chillies or not, this rasam is full of warming spices to keep you glowing as it starts to colder. If you like, you could add a little grated ginger to the toor dal as it is cooking, a little crushed and chopped garlic to the tarka. Then you would have a real immunity-boosting, cold-destroying rasam!
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