Tomato Rasam

Hola All :) :)

Monsoon already knocked in every part of India.... Happy Monsoon to every one :) :) ....Enjoy the rains ..with you family and friends... and thank to god for blessing us with all the good things in life... I know you would be thinking why I wrote suddenly this line regarding saying thanks to god... I am a very religious person... and believe a lot in god... So in everything I feel to thank god for showing his blessings on us... and I feel everyone should do the same if he feels from heart... I feel like rains are also gift of God to us... as after rain we get relaxation from the hot summer heat... so these are my thoughts... I know many will agree with me and might be some of them not.... Its ok... everyone has a right to think on his or her way...  At the end we should be happy :) :)

Lets move on to today's recipe post... So today we will discuss about a very common dish or soup ... of Southern India... known as  "RASAM"..Rasam is integral part of South Indian meals... I personally die heart fan of south Indian dishes... I love dosa...idly... uttapam... etc.. list is endless... By seeing my love for south Indian food my friends use to tease me in my college days ... that I should get married to some south Indian guy :P... Jokes apart... So today we will discuss about Tomato Rasam... Its very simple to prepare .... Whenever I feel lazy to cook I prefer to make Rasam... Either with rice or idly.... goes well with both... Also in monsoon we feel to drink or eat something hot... So hot RASAM is the best option for monsoon....

As I am a North Indian ...I prepare rasam using Readymade rasam powder available in market.I used for this recipe MTR rasam powder... Some people also add any type of lentil... But I prepare only with Tomato without any lentil.. Lets proceed with detailed recipe :-

Ingredients :-

3-4 medium sized tomato's chopped small.
3 cups of water.
1-2 tsp of rasam powder ( adjust with your taste)
4-5 curry leaves
1/2  tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp of red chilly powder( optional)
Pinch of fenugreek seeds / methi
Pinch of asfotedia
1 dry red chili
2 tbsp of oil
2 tbsp of jaggery ( adjust as per your taste)
Small piece of tamarind or ¾ tsp. tamarind paste
Coriander leaves to garnish 

Procedure :- 

Heat oil in the pan.Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves , fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds.Let them Splutter.Add the dry red chilly.Now add the chopped tomatoes.Also add salt , turmeric powder and red chilly powder.Fry tomatoes for at-least 2-3mins.Cover the mixture and cook.You need to cook till tomatoes become soft.After that add jaggrey and tamarind to the tomatoes.Add the rasam powder , stir well.Now add the water and cook it till boil comes.Add salt as per taste.Taste the sourness and adjust as per your taste if you need add jaggrey more.Cook on medium flame.

Once done garnish with coriander leaves.

Note :- To enhance the taste you can also add fresh grated coconut.

Hope you will enjoy hot hot sambhar in rain with friends and family... Will come soon with new dish... Let me know your views... queries ... I am always there to help you in cooking :) :)

Till then cia... Enjoy the monsoon and also take care of health...