Pepper-Garlic Rasam

Hot and Spicy Rasam ready!

Whenever I invite someone to my house for a meal, one of the menu item would be the pepper-garlic
rasam so that no one goes out of my house with undigested food. I add somph in the rasam masala (a tip my mother-in-law gave me) which helps in digestion and gives nice aroma to the rasam. Many of my friends liked the taste and have been asking me for the recipe. So friends, here you go......

Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 15 min
Serving size: 6
Difficulty: Easy

Coarsely ground Rasam masala

Ingredients
For Rasam masala

• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 6 -7 medium sized garlic cloves( I don't remove the garlic skin)
• 1 small piece of ginger

For seasoning

• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 3 red chillies
• curry leaves
• 1 small piece of hinge(or 1/4 tsp of hinge powder)
• Olive oil ( or oil of your choice)

Other ingredients

• 1 tomato - dice it into small cubes
• 1/4 tsp tumeric powder
• gooseberry size of tamarind
• 1 cup of chopped coriander leaves
• Salt to taste

Preparation

About to boil - Remove from stove

1. In a mixie/blender grind black pepper, cumin, fennel seeds, garlic and ginger coarsely. 
2. Cut the tomato into small pieces and set aside.
3. Wash coriander leaves and set aside.
4. Soak tamarind in warm water.

Cooking

1. In a vessel add 1 tsp oil and when it is warm add hinge and mustard seeds.
2. When mustard splutters add the red chillies, curry leaves and  grounded rasam masala. 
3. Saute for about 10 seconds. Do the seasoning on low heat taking care that the masala does not get over-fried. If the masala is over fried the rasam will taste bitter.
4. Add turmeric and give it a mix.
5. Add the diced tomatoes and saute for about 30 seconds. 
6. Extract tamarind juice and add it to he masala. Then add 3-4 glasses of water.  
7. Depending on how sour you want the rasam you can add less or more water.
8. Now bring the stove to medium heat. Optionally you can add 1/4 tsp of rasam powder if you have(preferably sakthi masala rasam powder).
9. Add salt for taste and finally garnish with coriander leaves. 
10. Remove the rasam from the stove when it is just about to boil. Note that this is very important because,  if the rasam boils then it changes the taste of the rasam(it will taste slightly bitter).

Enjoy the spicy rasam with white rice or drink it as a soup.

Health benefits of rasam

Hinge promotes good digestion and helps in regulating menstruation cycle. Garlic, black pepper and cumin seeds helps to lower bad LDL cholesterol. Somph helps in digestion and is also good for feeding mothers to improve lactation. Ginger aids in digestion and helps in absorbing nutrients from the food that we eat. Coriander helps in cleansing the urinary system. Turmeric is an antibiotic by itself. Curry leaves with its dark colored leaves traps lot of anti-oxidants. Tomato is a also a good source of Vitamin C.

With these nutrition, it is good to drink one cup of rasam atleast 3 times a week.




Ready to drink or to be served with rice

Note: For people living in US or in cold countries you don't need to refrigerate it and it tastes even better on the next day. Unless the climate is really hot, rasam stays good for atleast 2 days because of the tamarind.

Try the rasam and let me know how it goes. If you have feedback just post it here...

You may also be interested in these recipes:

Minestrone soup

Masala Chai (Spiced Tea)

Poondu Kozhambu Or Garlic Curry