Spicy Rasam

Spicy Rasam Recipe

Rasam is a staple in our home, my mom always made this and passed it on, my sons relish hot, steaming rice with rasam with a side of egg fry.

My standard recipe for rasam goes like this

Things Needed:

Tamarind - lemon sized

Water- abt 1 litre

Tomato - 1 medium sized

Salt to taste

Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Rasam Powder - 1 tablespoon (Recipe given below)

Curry leaves - handful

Garlic - 2 cloves

Tempering - Mustard, cumin, coriander seeds - 1/4 teaspoon each

a pinch of asfoetida

Coriander leaves - a handful

Rasam Powder

Toor Dal - 1 cup

Coriander seeds - 1/2 cup

Pepper - 1 tablespoon

cumin seeds - 1/4 cup

Dry  roast the above ingredients and grind them to a coarse mixture 

You can add a handful of dry roasted curry leaves and 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds.

Method 

Boil tomato, tamarind in the water. Add half the curry leaves and the spice powders and salt to the water. Switch off after coming to a boil.

Temper - heat a teaspoon of oil, add crushed garlic, the seeds, curry leaves and a pinch of asfoetida

Add the tempering to the rasam, add coriander leaves and cover.

Serve with steamed rice and any wet/dry curries.

My affair with cooking

I would not say I never entered the kitchen when I was a student, was in fact thrown out of the kitchen for offering help in cutting veggies, right in the middle of pre-board tenth exams:-)

Such was my parents' seriousness for my exam prep...I knew I had prepared as much as I could, but they were convinced I would score a mark more if I utilize those 5 or 10 minutes, which of course I spent in browsing the newspaper triggering another round of tension-filled lectures...;-)

Without digressing much, I never thought of food as an interest while in my student days, eating whatever my mom could pack before I left for college at 7:30 AM or even before. She sometimes packed half boiled curries on steaming hot rice, saying the curry would get cooked by the time we reached college!! But thats another story. Basically, food was a necessity, to be had on time, to survive.

My affair with cooking and interest in culinary delights started when i landed a job in Mumbai. As they say, Mumbai is the dreamland for everyone - actors, singers, bankers, labour alike...but for me the city opened a new world...a world of food, taught me importance of taste, encouraged me to try out new dishes..be it in posh restaurants or roadside 'thelas'...

We lived in a shared accommodation till I got married, and took turns in cooking and cleaning. My new-found interest in food found its way into the smallest of all kitchens...
Then started my trials...to start with - Upma - supposed to be the easiest of all breakfast recipes in South India...it was an absolute disaster...all things which could add to the destruction of Upma happenned - excess water, no salt and underboiled, we ended up with a lumpy mass, which hardly resembled the Upma made by amma(which we sooo detested!!). Then followed, a runny kela curry, horrendous dosas which would rather stick to the pan than come to my plate etc etc.

Picking up bits and pieces, nursing the wounds from the trials, tribulations and failures, after a few calls to mom, and aunts who could add their bit of valuable advice...I continued my affair...and successfully could take a lunch box to office too, sometimes only though!

This continued after marriage, S(my hubby) was(is) also an amateur cook and trying his hand at cooking something eatable for himself before marriage. A few days into marriage, we were mostly eating outside, breakfast - bread or cereals, lunch at respective offices, and dinner ordering home...usually Dal Kichadi with Tandoori Chicken or hit the paratha galli or the Thai restaurant for some green/red Thai curries(S loves Thai!).
Then my ILs announced their annual visit, triggering a panic unknown to me. Than started the frantic phone calls and veggie shopping. Our fridge filled up with goodies like never before!:-)
My MIL arrived and she took over the kitchen and handed over some valuable tips and priceless recipes which cannot be found in books or food blogs!
Thus started my journey into food world, trying and learning, soaking information from everywhere. 
Initially, I cooked to impress my hubby, then cooking became a passion, trying to cook new dishes - a hobby!
8 years down the lane, 2 adorable kidos lates, I was wondering, if I am to start a food blog, where should I start?!! The dish that immediately struck me was Rasam with Steamed Rice, which I could cook even in my sleep...Rasam is my hubby's as well as my elder one's fav, and so is a staple at home.

So...coming up!