South Indian Rasam or Charu or broth

Rasam is the best South Indian delicacy. In fact, an age-old belief is that one’s cooking skills can be testified by the quality of Rasam (as it is called in South India) or Charu (in Telugu) or broth (a concoction of a few spicy ingredients) he/she makes. To a large measure, it is true also.

A piping hot Rasam draws people to the dining table spreading so much of fragrance. In financial terms, it can be likened with the #Facebook IPO. If your tradition demands that you should not eat during a solar eclipse, just gulp a glass of rasam and satiate your hunger. 

I intended to post this to leave my mark in the world even if I die tomorrow. Had #Luke Pomersbach  consumed our ‘Rasam’, he wouldn’t have given scope for a complaint of molestation by an American woman. #Shah Rukh Khan alias #SRK consumed this Rasam, he would have not attracted a ban for five years from Wankhede Stadium.

Ingredients to serve five

Tamarind – pulp (two table spoons of pulp)
Tomatoes – 3 (medium size)
Red gram (Toor dal boiled) – three table spoons
Garlic – four flakes
Onion – finely chopped – 1 teaspoon 
Fresh coconut – grated – 1 teaspoon 
Jaggery – two pinches
Turmeric powder (haldi) – pinch
Salt – between half and one teaspoon (to taste)

Rasam powder – Three teaspoons – Use branded rasam powder available in any Indian store or grocery/provision store (Or you can make an amorphous powder of dried-up coriander seeds, black pepper, red gram, bengal gram, cumin seeds, asafoetida (hing), red chillies in equal quantities) 

For Tadka - 

Mustard seeds (one-fourth teaspoon)
Cumin seeds – one-fourth teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds – one-fourth teaspoon
oil – one teaspoon 
curry leaves – seven to 10 leaves
hing – a pinch

Take a saucepan, put oil and the above ingredients and allow it to hot up for a while

Procedure

Boil for 10 minutes – 500 ml of water with tamarind pulp, and cut pieces of tomatoes. Add salt and turmeric powder, boiled red gram (dal), finely chopped onions. 

Add mashed garlic flakes, and jaggery allow it to boil for five minutes. Add Rasam powder.  Allow it to boil for five more minutes and add grated coconut and before taking it off the stove add tadka. 

Now, savour the spicy rasam. This is good for digestion. It is a great appetizer and causes bowels movement in case of constipation. Enjoy the delicacy and write to us how you felt. 

Menthi Majjiga

This butter milk is a good combination for kandi pachchadi. The ingredients in the butter milk give good relief for abdominal discomfort due to indigestion.

Mainly ajwain seeds or carom seeds or thymol seeds. This plant has a similarity to parsely, they are egg shaped and grayish in colour.

Ingredients:

Butter milk-1 cup

Water-3cups

Fenugreek powder-1/2tsp

 (Roast fenugreek seeds and make a fine powder with that)

Salt-to taste

Turmeric powder-a pinch

Asafoetida-a pinch

Ajwain seeds (carom seeds or thymol seeds) -1tbsp

Green chilies -2 (split them)

Curry leaves-5 or 6

Mustard seeds-1/2tsp

Red chilies-1(split them)

Oil-1tbsp

Procedure:

Take one cup of butter milk in a bowl add three cups water to it.

Butter Milk

Ajwain seeds or carom seeds

Add salt, fenugreek powder and green chilies to it.
In small fry pan heat oil add turmeric powder, mustard seeds, ajwain seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and red chilies. Allow them to pop.

Menthi Majjiga
Add this tadka to the butter milk.

Majjiga Pulusu

Ingredients:

Majjiga (butter milk)-1/2ltr

Vegetables cut into big pieces-1cup

(lauki, carrot, brinjal, onion)

Bengal gram-1tbsp

Coconut-1tbsp

Coriander seeds-1/2tbsp

Green chilies-5 or 6

Ginger-1/2tbsp

Red chili-1

Mustard seeds-1/tsp

Salt-to taste

Turmeric powder-a pinch

Asafoetida-a pinch

Curry leaves-5 or 6

For tadka:

Ghee-1tbsp

Mustard seeds-1tsp

Cumin seeds-1tsp

Red chilies-2(split)

Procedure:

Soak bengal gram for 1 hour. 

Make a fine paste of Bengal gram, Coconut-1tbsp, Coriander seeds, Green chilies, Ginger, Red chili, Mustard seeds, turmeric powder by adding little water.

Cook the vegetables without adding salt to them. We can use any vegetables given in the list. Add the above made paste to the cooked vegetables. Add butter milk to it and allow it to boil for 5 or 10 minutes. Allow it to boil in low flame only. Switch off the stove and cool it for 5 minutes then add salt. If we add salt, when it is hot the butter milk will split. It doesn’t look and taste good. Again boil it for 5 minutes and add curry leaves. Add tadka to it.

Beetroot Kutu

This is a kind of soup which has to be taken with hot rice. To make this soup we need to have tamarind pulp, boiled dal, boiled beetroot pieces and of course kutu masala. The taste of this soup is little spicy.

Ingredients:

Beetroot – 1 big (peeled and cut into cubes)

Tamarind pulp-4tbsp

Red gram-2 cups

Kutu masala-1 large cup

Turmeric powder-a pinch

Salt- to taste

Asafoetida-a pinch

Curry leaves-5 or 6

For tadka

Mustard seeds-1/2tbsp

Cumin seeds-1/2tbsp

Red chillies-2break them into pieces

Oil/ Ghee-2tbsp

Heat oil in a kadai and add all the ingredients and allow them to splutter.

Procedure:

Peel the skin and cut the beetroot into cubes. Cook red gram and beetroot in two separate vessels in a pressure cooker.

Soak tamarind in water and squeeze the pulp. Add tamarind pulp,cooked dal, beetroot pieces and kutu masala in a thick bottomed vessel or pressure pan. Add all of them one after the 
other. Put this on fire and add salt and turmeric powder. Allow it to boil for 5 minutes. Add asafoetida and fresh curry leaves. Again boil it for 5 more minutes. Add tadka to it. Steamy, spicy beetroot kutu is ready.

Pesarapappu pulusu

Ingredients:

Pesara pappu or green gram-2 cups

Onions-8

Tamarind pulp-3tbsp

Salt- to taste

Red chili powder-1tsp

Turmeric powder-a pinch

Asafoetida- a pinch

Curry leaves-5 or 6

Green chilies-2

Oil-1tbsp

Mustard seeds-1/2tsp

Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp

Red chilies-2 splits

Procedure:

Cook green gram in a pressure cooker for 2 vigils. Take the skin of the onions and boil them separately in a thick bottomed vessel. Once the onions cooked add tamarind pulp and add some water. Cut the green chili into half and add it to the above soup. Add salt let it boil for 5 minutes. When it is boiling add cooked green gram and red chili powder to this and allow it to boil for 5 more minutes. When the soup is boiling add curry leaves and asafoetida. Heat oil in a small wok add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and red chilies, allow them to splutter add this to the above soup.

Kandi pappu pulusu

Kandi pappu pulusu is specially made in the eastern parts of Andhra. Kandi pappu pulusu is made with red gram, tamarind pulp, and of course with some spices. We need to prepare a special masala for this soup.The taste of this soup is not like sambar.

Ingredients:

Red gram-2 cups
Tamarind pulp-1 cup
Onions-2 large
Salt-to taste
Turmeric powder-a pinch
Asafoetida-a pinch
Masala-1cup
Seasoning.
For seasoning:
Oil-1tbsp
Mustard seeds-1tbsp
Cumin seeds-1tbsp
Red chillies-2(split them into pieces)
Curry leaves-a few
Corriander leaves-a few


For Masala:

Corriander seeds-1tbsp

Red gram-1/2tbsp

Mustard seeds-1/2tsp

Cumin seeds-1/2tsp

Fenugreek seeds-1/2tsp

Black pepper seeds-1/2tsp

Red chillies-3 or 4

Asafoetida-a pinch

Procedure for Masala:

Roast all the above mentioned spices in a kadai till they turn brown shade. 

Make a fine paste of it by adding necessary water.

Procedure for pulusu:

Roast the red gram till it turn to light brown colour. 

Pressure cook this for three whistles. Mash it with a laddle.  

Chop onions. Add salt, turmeric powder and water to the chopped onions and cook them.

Once onions cooked or become smooth. Add boiled red gram to the onions. 

Add grinded pulusu masala to the above onions.Allow it to boil for 5 minutes.Put a pinch of asafoetida when it is boiling. It will adds good aroma and taste to the soup. Once the pulusu is ready add seasoning to the above pulusu.