Tamarind Rasam Recipe

Ingredients:

• Tamarind: Size of a lemon
• Toor Dal: 2 tbsps
• Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp
• Jeera (Cumin seeds): 1 tbsp
• Curry Leaves: handful
• Salt: to taste
• Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
• Ghee: 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Prepare Tamarind Water:

   • Extract tamarind juice by mixing it with 2 cups of water. Add salt and turmeric powder to the tamarind water.
   • Boil the tamarind water for 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Prepare Jeera-Toor Dal Paste:

   • In a kadai, dry roast the toor dal and jeera until they turn aromatic.
   • Grind the roasted toor dal and jeera along with a few curry leaves into a fine paste using a mixer grinder. Add a little water as needed to make a smooth paste.

3. Combine and Boil:

   • Add the jeera-toor dal paste to the boiling tamarind water. Stir well and let it boil for another 5 minutes.

4. Temper:

   • In a separate kadai, heat ghee. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
   • Add curry leaves to the spluttering mustard seeds and roast for a few seconds.
   • Pour this tempering over the rasam.

5. Finish:

   • Remove the rasam from the heat.

6. Serve:

   • Serve the hot tamarind rasam with punarbagam for a comforting and nourishing meal.

Pathiya Samayal Contest Entry by Uma Sridharan