The Everything Rasam

Amma never made rasam. Don't ask me why. We are south Indian, very much Tamil and we had everything a good Tamilian is supposed to relish- Sambar, poriyal, appalam, koottu, puzhi kuzhambu....you name it. Just no Rasam. And so it was shocking in seismic proportions to my husband that I did not define Rasam as the end to every meal!!! I learnt to make this "soup" (as Indian restaurants in the US tend to name it) from a variety of sources- mostly from my husband's relatives- and it has evolved quite a bit through the process.
So here it is....the Everything Rasam....
You will need:

1 small tomato
1 tsp whole pepper
1 tsp whole jeera
3 cloves garlic
5-6 curry leaves
3/4 cup chopped cilantro
marble sized ball of tamarind
1 tbs rasam powder

and to temper:
1 tsp oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and a pinch of hing.

(I use less oil trying to be healthy and all :)...a tsp would suffice though the actual recipe calls for 1 tbs of oil)


1. Soak the tamarind in 1-1/4 cup of moderately warm water.
2. Grind the jeera, pepper, garlic and curry leaves into a coarse mix. Add the tomatoes and cilantro and pulse for a wee bit. You don't want to grind it to a paste as the chunkiness will give it a unique flavor.
3. In a sauce pan, heat some of the tamarind water, add the rasam powder and just when its about to boil, add the ground mixture and the rest of the water. Let it heat up and remove from stove top once it starts to bubble.

4. In another pan heat the oil, add mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and hing. (OK, tempering is an art...maybe I should cover it in a separate post!!!) And and pour it in to the rasam.

Its delicious with rice, poriyal and appalam.

Colocasia fry

Its been quite a while since I created this blog...I'm getting around to posting my first recipe after a year!!! Better late than never I keep telling myself :)!!
Anyway let me start with a very simple yet delicious something. You don't really have to know how to cook to get this one right.

You will need:
6 medium sized colocasia
1 pinch turmeric powder
1tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp dhania (corriander) powder
1/2 tsp jeera powder
salt to taste
4tbsp corn oil



Wash the colocasia thoroughly under running water. Be careful since you may develop a nasty itch if they are nice and fresh.Keep some olive/ coconut oil handy to apply to your hands as water will only aggravate the itch!
Slice the colocasia...remember the thinner the crispier! In a big bowl mix the rest of the ingredients along with the slices. Keep it aside for about 15 to 30 min.
Heat a large pan, add the oil. Then place the slices on the hot oil and shallow fry for about 4-5 min. Turnover and repeat until its as crisp as you want it to be. If you feel the pan is drying out add more oil all around.
You can add a twist by placing the fried slices in whipped curd!! Great as a side for rice or rotis.