Rasam-licious (the Tirunelveli style)

Food: a basic need, a creative expression, an aphrodisiac.


What is it about food that drives the world? In my favorite stories, the orphan always got into trouble because he wanted an extra piece of bread or just that tiny morsel of bread. In a recent book I read, Suite Francaise (I strongly recommend it, btw), entire families don’t fear the invasion of the Germans as much as they fear biting into that last piece of foie gras. Food is that much of a motivator; a powerful element in its own right.

We play with it, we ponder it, we gulp it, we dismiss it, we hate it, we love it, it brings us to the brink of ecstasy…you can never be indifferent to it.

When God created this world, one of the first things he said to Adam was “Go on buddy, and eat of everything in this garden because it is all for you.” Interestingly enough, it was food — that ripe and devastatingly tempting piece of fruit — that brought about his fall too!

So, here in this blog, I’ve decided to explore food and post recipes of my favorite dishes and my not so favorite ones (but ones I eat simply because my mom told me as a child that it would make my hair grow longer or aid in the functioning of that pesky little thing called brains!)


So, starting with my all time favorite dish: the beguilingly simple Rasam. But first a brief history!!

Wikipedia kindly informs me that Rasam is known as Chaaru in Telugu, and in the 7th century, the Iyengars in Tamil Nadu called it Chaathamudhu. Soon, by the time the 20th century rolled around, it was being consumed as Rasam by all true blue South Indians.

All that aside, have you ever deeply inhaled the smells that emanate when Rasam is being made? First is the heady scent of the ghee, then the delicate fragrance of the curry leaves, followed by the pungency of hing (or LG asafoetida). Then comes the absolutely mesmerizing aroma of garlic (if like me you crush it and sautee it in the oil) and afterwards is the intense odor of the red chilies and pepper from the rasam powder. When the tamarind and tomato juice is bubbling, how can anyone resist the call of this siren? A handful of aromatic coriander does the trick right before you ladle the whole lot on to a plateful of steaming rice and settle down for a good ol’ south Indian meal! Hungry yet?


Now for my recipe! (note: I’m bad with measurements cuz I learnt the whole thing by trial and error, so feel free to experiment according to what you like and don’t. Oh, and, I’ve also learnt that if you don’t let yourself be afraid of cooking, it actually gives you a chance to come up with brand spanking new creations!)


RASAM:


The individual elements:

Tamarind: the size of a small lime (the green one).

Tomato: 1 ripe. (I once substituted cherry tomatoes cuz I had run out of the regular ones and it worked just fine…in fact the rasam was a lil juicier.)

Curry leaves: as much as you like

Garlic: as many cloves as you can stand. I stick to 3 cloves, maybe 4 if I want it a little garlicky.

Rasam powder: I like the MTR brand.

Hing (LG): a pinch or two.

A spoon of ghee or any oil. Ghee gives the rasam a delicious flavor. And come on, how much harm is a spoon of ghee going to do to your diet!

Some mustard (half a teaspoon?)

Black Pepper powder (optional)

Coriander leaves


The whole:

Warm some water and soak the tamarind and tomato in it for 15 minutes. Crush the tamarind and once you’ve extracted all you can from it, throw out the remains. Then crush the tomato in the water too and depending on how much you like that particular fruit (or is it a vegetable…oh well, the debate continues) you can choose the amount of pulp you want to leave in the water.

Heat the ghee and throw in the mustard and curry leaves. Once it starts to sputter and go crazy all over the place, put in the garlic and hing and sauté for a minute or till the garlic gives off its aroma. Don’t let the garlic burn. Put in three teaspoons of rasam powder and sauté. You can add more powder later if you want the rasam to be a little more intense. I add pepper powder here for added spiciness cuz I like my tongue to be burning and my eyes to be streaming when I’m eating it! Give it a few minutes and pour in the tamarind/tomato water. On medium flame bring to boil (give it 10-15 mins) and add salt to taste. Then right before you take it off the flame, throw in some coriander leaves.

Enjoy!