Pepper Rasam

Rasam is a comfort food for my family and I would say for any malayalee. It is also served as part of the Kerala Sadya. Another good thing about this dish is that it is good for digestion and may be one of the reasons that it is served as one of the last courses of the traditional sadya. It is considered as a soup as well.

When I started cooking I used to use the rasam powder that you get ready made and it never yielded good results; may be I was not making it right. Now this one here is a simple and quick recipe with no ready make rasam mixes.

Oil                           - 2 tbsp
Mustard                   - 1/4 tsp
Pepper                     - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste   - 1 1/2 tbsp
Green Chilly              - 1
Cumin powder          - 3/4 tsp
Tamarind                 - small lemon size ball
Water                      - 5 1/2 cups
Curry Leaves            - 1 twig

1. Heat oil in a vessel and splutter the mustard and curry leaves.
2. Add split green chilly, ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell is gone.
3. Add Pepper powder and cumin powder and saute for a minute.
4. Extract tamarind juice in a cup of water and add it to the vessel.
5. Add the remaining water and let it boil.

Your rasam is ready. You could drink it as a soup or have it with plain rice.