Recipe - Ordinary Rasam

3 tablespoon Red gram dal (pigeon peas;
toor dal), picked over &
rinsed
1 cup Water
2 Tomatoes; minced
A lemonsized piece of
tamarind pulp
One half teaspoon Asafoetida powder
2 teaspoon Rasam powder
Salt; to taste
2 One half cup Water (extra)
Coriander leaves; to garnish

FOR TEMPERING
2 teaspoon Ghee
1 teaspoon Brown mustard seeds
One half teaspoon Cumin seeds
1 Red chili; halved
A few curry leaves

Wash red gram dal well. Drain. Place in a a heavy saucepan. Cover with 1
cuo water and bring to the boil. When boiling, cover pan with a lid,
leaving slightly ajar. Lower the heat and simmer dal gently for 1 1/2
hours. Stir several times during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Set dal
aside without draining.

Dice the tomatoes. Place in a heavy saucepan with the tamarind pulp,
asafoetida powder, rasam powder, and salt to taste. Add 1 cup water. Crush
the contents of the pan together. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add the undrained cooked dal and the remaining 1 One half cups water to the
rasam. Bring to the boil.

Tempering: Heat 2 teaspoons ghee in a heavy frying pan or skillet. Add the
mustard seeds, cumin seeds, halved red chilli, and a few curry leaves.

When the mustard seeds splutter, add this mixture to the rasam.

Garnish the rasam with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot.

From: Dakshin, Vegetarian Cuisine From South India by Chandra Padmanabhan

Recipe by: Dakshin by Chandra Padmanabhan Posted to BakeryShoppe Digest V1
#176 by Sharon Raghavachary schary@earthlink.net on Jul 31, 1997