Grandma’s Secret Rasam Recipe,The Perfect Comfort Food

   Grandma’s Secret Rasam Recipe The Perfect Comfort Food

• There are recipes composed not only of a mixture of ingredients. These are small bits of our heart, which gets carried down the generations, not just giving taste but also laden with memories, feelings and tales. To me, that is rasam.
• I rremember my childhood as the first thing in my grand momaa’s house was the sound of popping mustard seeds with hot ghee, the smell of sizzling curry leaves &the flavor of pungent rasam filling the air. Back then I had no idea that she wasn't just cooking, she was performing magic.
• I would like to share that magic with you today- that secret recipe to my grandmaâs famous rasam, just the way grandma would make it. This is not a fancy restaurant style super fancified one, no this is the dosa-like-mom, comfortable, gentle, love-in-a-bowl-tasting raasm. And there is nothing to fret about where you have never cooked South Indian food before. I will describe it all in clear simple words to enable even the amateurs and non-English speakers to easily follow me.

Another question arises as to what makes that rasam so special:

• Rasam is synonymous with rice in the kitchen if you have been brought up in south India. However, it is not only a complementing dish. Rasam is:
• Waters are light and digestible well- suited when one is feeling down.
• Delicious, yet not nauseating: a combination of tangy, hot and scenting.
• Healthy- pepper, cumin, garlic and tamarind are natural digestive aids.
• Dynamic - go with rice, idli, dosa or even make a hearty soup- healthy on a rainy day.
• Handlebar mustache look. To my grandmother, rasam was not a food, but comfort medicine. In cases, when one or more of the family members had a cold or sore throat, she would prepare extra pepper rasam. When we have guests then she would prepare a special variety such as lemon rasam or pineapple rasam. And she used to say, that rasam is basic but one has to make it lovingly, only then it would taste like home.

Ingredients used to make Sahaj Rasam of Grandma:

They make about 3-4 servings of this recipe. Just get your amounts without any difficulty.

Main Ingredients:

• Tamarind – 1 small lemon sized ball (soaked in warm water)
• Ripe tomato – 1 (chopped) medium
• Cooked toor dal (pigeon pea lentils) – 2 tbsp (if you want richer taste)
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Salt – to season
• Rasam Spice Mix ( ground fresh ):
• Black peppercorns – 1 tsp
• Jeera – 1 tsp
• Garlic – 3 – 4 cloves (optional but strongly suggested)
• Dry red chilli – 1 (as spice level tolerance)

Tempering (tadka) Ingredients:

• Ghee (Clarified butter) – 1 tsp (or oil for making vegan option)
• Mostard seeds – ½ tsp
• Curry leaves – 8 to 10
• Asafoetida (hing) – a bijoran.
• Fresh coriander leaves – 1 tbl spn (chopped)

Method List:

• Tamarind Water 
•  Add Water
• Place the tamarind in warm water of approximately 1 1/2 cups and leave it to soak in water in 10-15 minutes. When it is soft press it with the fingers a lot to get the juice then strain to remove the fibres and seeds. You will use this souring extract as the essential part of your rasam.

 Prepare the fresh Spice Mix

• Finely grind pepper, cumin, garlic and dry red chilli with the help of a mortar and pestle or in a small grinder to make a coarse powder. Grandma used to always like bounding it by hand because she said it put out more fragrance and love. I still trust her.

 Cook Base

• Put tamarind water, cut tomato, turmeric powder and salt in a vessel. Children should be left to simmer over low heat in 5-7 minutes over the heat when the raw smell of tamarind disappears and softens tomatoes.

Insert Dal and Spice Mix

• In case you are using cooked toor dal, slightly mash now and add it along with freshly ground spice mix. Stir well. Add 1-2 cups of water to make your rasam as you like according to your preferences of thickness or thin soupy.

Warm up Gently

• This is important -rasam must never be boiled rapidly. Heat the flame on low and cook till you notice small bubbles and the aroma reaches your kitchen. Shut off the heat right away.

The preparation of tempering

• Heat ghee . Add mustard seeds and Allow them to splutter. Add curry leaves, and hing and pour over this sizzling tempering into the rasam. seal the bot right away and the odour is trapped

 complete and service

• Top it withcut coriander leaves. Plate hot with steamed rice and a side of vegetables with papad which has been cooked in oil. Or put it in a cup and drink it up like soup--my favourite when it is rainy in the evenings.

Grandma tips to a perfect Rasam:

• Freshness is key-Grind freshest spices to taste best.
• Light cooking- It kills the taste of subtle flavours by overcooking.
• Use ghee where possible- it smells so good.
• Allow rest before serving Rasam should rest 510 mins so the flavours can mingle really well.
• Customize to health requirements – Less chilli on children, more pepper and garlic to treat the colds.

Changes To Try:

• Lemon Rasam: Do not add tamarind but instead add lemon juice at the end.
• Mint Rasam: Add mint leaves to it and have a refreshing twist.
• Pineapple Rasam: Chopped pineapple will give "estoicao" sweet-tangy festivity.
• Mysore Rasam: Coconut can be added to the spice mix which brings a more creamy and rich flavour.

Healthy 2 & Health Benefits:

• Not only is it a delicious dish, it is good to your health:
• Pepper & cumin help digestion and metabolize.
• This is more wholesome since Dal has been added to the dish.
• It is no wonder that our grandmothers used to serve rasam as not only a tasting dish but also natural home treatment.

The story of my own memory of Rasam:

• I can recall during one monsoon evening that I was feeling poor cold. I lay there under the covers hating it and hating it. Grandma brought in a small steel tumbler of steaming hot pepper rasam. She ordered me to drink it very sloowly. The heat crept down my throat and cleared my nose and I felt instantly better. When I completed the tumbler I was not merely feeling good  I was feeling loved. That this is what rasam does.

Serving Ideas:

• Original: Rice, vegetable side dish and papad.
• Fast Food: As a light dinner of idli or dosa.
• Soup Style: As hot beverage in a cold night.
• Fusion Twist: It can be used as spicy noodle broth.

Storage & Reheating:

• Rasam is yummier fresh, though it can be stored in an air-tight container placed in the fridge, and lasts up to 2 days. Do not heat excessively and always on high fire because this will kill its flavour and smell.

Final Thoughts:

• Rasam is a reminder to us that sometimes simplicity is also very beautiful in a world where there are elaborate recipes and short cuts to get to fast foods.It is testament that a lot of plain, humble ingredients made up something amazing, when it is prepared lovingly.
  By making this rasam I feel my grandmother being right there in the kitchen with me, smiling and declaring Taste it, does it make your heart happy? And because of this I can always be certain that it is just right.

  Well then take a chance and make this recipe today. You may be a veteran cook or still in the beginning stages but rasam will have a special place in your heart, and kitchen.

Your Turn:

• Have you ever had rasam? Then do you your own twist of family? Add it in comments, I would be glad to hear your story.
• Love this recipe? Text one of your friends on WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram and make sure you both take a bowl of this comfort.
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