Saaru/Rasam

As per request of dear Dhan uncle i am posting the recipe of Saaru. Called saaru in Karnataka and rasam for the rest of India is a thin broth which is mixed with rice. Like spaghetti and meat balls are comfort food for many people, saaru anna (rice and rasam) is comfort food for may south Indians. What makes saaru or rasam tasty is the masala powder, I will give the recipe to make it. You can also cut it short and use store bought rasam powder...it is totally upto you. I will give a few variations of rasam here today, however, the masala powder remains the same. Make and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1. Toor dal [split lentils] - 1 cup, cooked well
2. Rasam Powder - 1 1/2 tsp, [recipe follows]
3. Tamarind - 1 tsp
4. Tomato - 1 cooked with toor dal
5. Jaggery - 1 small block
6. Salt - to taste
7. Coriander - finely chopped
8. Grated fresh coconut - 2 tbsp [optional]

For tempering:

1. Oil - 2 tsp
2. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
3. Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
4. Asafoetida  - a pinch
5. Turmeric - a pinch
6. Curry leaves - 1 string

Ramsam Powder:

Ingredients:

1. Coriander seeds - 1/2 cup
2. Cumin seeds -  2  tbsp
3. Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
4. Whole black pepper - 2 tsp
5. Red chilly - 1/2 cup [use according to taste]
6. Dry coconut - 1/4 cup [grated or cut into strips]

Method:

• Dry roast all the above given Ingredients one after the other till the raw smell goes away and they start smelling fragrant. Let it cool completely make a powder and use it as and when required.

Method to make rasam:

• Heat oil in a vessel to make tempering. add mustard seeds, let them splutter. Add cumin and let them splutter. add the rest of the tempering ingredients and saute for 2 seconds.
• Now add the water from the cooked lentils. Mash the lentils and tomato to a paste and add them to the vessel. Thin it out further if it seems thick. The consistency should be of butter milk.
• Add tamarind, rasam powder, salt and jaggery and let it boil for 10 minutes.
• Add coriander and coconut, cook for 2 more minutes and rasam is ready to eat.

Variation 2

• Follow the above method. except for cooking lentils. This is plain tomato rasam.
• Make the tempering, add 2 finely chopped tomatoes, saute for a few seconds.
• Add salt and let them cook well. 
• Add enough water and the rest of the ingredients and cook the same way as above... this cooks in 10 minutes and is a quick fix when u need dinner fast.

Variation 3

• Instead of cooking tomato with the lentils, grind tomato, rasam powder, coconut and salt and add them to tempering... cook for 2 minutes to get the rawness out add lentils and rest of the ingredients and boil till done.

Serving suggestions:

Goes best with steaming hot rice, clarified butter [ghee] and tempered green beans.

Tips:

For just the tomato rasam, you can choose to add a pod of crushed garlic, it makes it much more tastier.