Rasam

Recently we went to Lord Subramanya temple in london. They served tasty rasam as part of the meal. Couple of friends i met there has been asking how to make that style of rasam and i'm happy to post this recipe for them.

South Indian meal is not complete without rasam.Usually served after sambar. It's used for digestion as its main ingredients are cummin seeds, pepper corns and garlic.

Ingredients:

Tamarind extract(diluted) - 1 cup

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dhal - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida powder- 1 pinch

Cummin seeds - 1 tsp

Peppercorns - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 2

Ghee - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Tomatoes - 2

Salt - 1/3 tsp

Garlic - 2 cloves (crushed)

Curry leaves - 2 strands

Chopped Coriander

Pre-Requsites:

Coarsely grind cummin seeds and peppercorns .

Making Rasam:

In a kadai heat 1 tsp of ghee and do the seasoning by adding urad dhal mustard seeds and asafoetida. Fry the chopped garlic and add the remaining ingredients except tomatoes and coriander. Finally chop the tomatoes and sqeeze with hands(should not grind as it would taste like tomato rasam) , add the ground cummin seeds and peppercorns boil for 10 mins. Garnish with coriander and the rasam is ready to serve.

Thai lemon grass soup

Thai lemon grass soup is a watery soup, if you prefer a thicker consistency add tomatoes. For non-vegetarians chicken stalk can be added for better taste.

Ingredients:
Galangal - 1 inch piece
Lemon grass - 2/3 stalks
Shallots - 4
Garlic - 4 cloves
Ghee - 1 spoon
Birds eye chilli - 2
Tomatoes - 2 (optional)
Chicken stalk - 1 cup(optional)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1 cup

Cooking method:

Peel the onion, garlic and gangal . Chop all the ingredients into small pieces and roast it in ghee/butter. Bring it boil for about 10 minutes by adding a cup of water. Add half a spoon of salt and the soup is ready to serve.