Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Mysore Rasam

Happy Earth day!
Earth day has nothing to do with the Rasam but the greeting is to keep us more focused on our environment:)

Rasam (Tamil) can be called a comfort food for many. Rasam is a South Indian soup eaten taken with rice or alone.
I love to prepare / have rasam along with 'thalli' meal (full spread of Indian dinner). Moreover a generous serving of fresh Rasam on hot mushy cooked rice with 'paruppu thovaiyal' means a heavenly food for me.
Generally the rasam served with an elaborate dinner / lunch helps in digestion. Also the quality of the rasam can testify the nativity and passion of the cook as there are many ways to make a rasam.
Mysore Rasam occupies a top rank among all the rasams. It is always termed as the 'rich rasam' because of its ingredients. It differs from the other varieties by the addition of coconut and a lot of lentils. Mostly Mysore Rasam would be served during festive times or feasts .
The special tag 'Mysore' adds a kick to the foods like, Mysore Bonda, Mysore masal dosai, Mysore Bah , Mysore Rasam etc:) .
Whenever I hear the word Mysore, the things flash in my mind are my mom's favorite green color Mysore silk saree, the Brindavanam, her Mysore sandol soap and her tall tales on her passion / collection of the Mysore silk sarees:)
Here goes the authentic way to make the rich 'Mysore Rasam'.

Other names:
Tamil - Rasam/ Kannada - Saaru / Telugu - Chaaru /Malayalam - Rasam / Tulu - Resa .



Ingredients:
Thoor dhal - 4 Tbsp
Tomato - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaf - 1 brig
Tamarind - a small lemon size
Mustard - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
oil / ghee - 2 tsp.
asafoetida - a pinch
Rasam Powder:
Thoor dhal - 1 tbsp
methi seed /fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Dry red chilly - 2
Coriander seed - 4 tsp
Black pepper - 2 tsp
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
To dry roast and grind:

Shredded coconut -1/4 cup

Method:

Cook the thoor dhal with Turmeric powder.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok and roast 1 tbsp Thoor dhal, dry red chilly ,methi seed (venthayam), coriander seeds, Pepper and cumin till the dhal becomes red.
Let it cool and powder it.

Dry roast the shredded coconut to mild red color and powder it . Take one tsp of powder and keep it separate to garnish the rasam.

Extract juice from tamarind. Add 2 cups of water and let it come to a boil along with cooked dhal.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok. Add the mustard and little cumin seeds. After the mustard gets crackle add the curry leaf and chopped tomato (chopped lengthwise) and fry a little (not completely mushy).

Then add the boiling tamarind extract , prepared rasam powder, powdered coconut to it the fried tomato and mix well.
Add more water to make it thin like soup.

Start heating it. As soon as the rasam forms froth in the top switch off the stove. Do not allow it to boil , as it will give a bitter taste to the rasam.

After switching off , add the salt and sprinkle a tsp of powdered coconut that was kept reserved.
Mysore Rasam is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Makes 1 liter of rasam.
Serve on plain cooked rice after the guest finishes with the sambar /More kulambu / vatral kulambu or serve in a tumbler for drinking.

39 comments:

Finla said...

I love rasaom this one is new to me, looks yummy.

Subhie Arun said...

I LOVE RASAM..WILL UR VERSION SOON

Nandinis food said...

I love all variety rasams, especially mysore rasam with coconut,slurp! Happy Earthday!hehehe

ARUNA said...

this looks great!!!

Priyameena said...

Rasam is a comfort food for me..Adding coconut to the rasam makes it look gorgeous..I know people from tirunelveli who even add shredded coconut to the dosa :)

Raks said...

me too,big fan of raasams,I wud love to try this,thanks for sharing the recipe!

Poornima Nair said...

The rasam looks great and so temting...I have a real bad throat now and would love to have that hot...

FH said...

Love Rasam. We call it thili saaru, literally means thin clear soup. Great recipe, looks delicious Viki! :)

Gita Jaishankar said...

Yummy rasam dear, looks comforting! I have never made this rasam, will try out your version soon :)

Suparna said...

Hi Viki,
Happy Earth day! that was an aromatic reminder ;)
Hmm.. Mysore and it's rich heritage and cuisine...I too have my countless favourites in mysore cuisine one is the sambar second is the mysore pak, rasam of any kind is an alltime fav. now coconut adorned rasam viki...u r making my temptaion reach it's peak :)
TC

Chutneytales said...

I love mysore rasam..your version is so nice..I love the addition of shredded coconut!

Usha said...

Mysore rasam looks fantastic and inviting !

Shama Nagarajan said...

wow...delicious

Lavanya said...

Rasam looks wonderful vicki..i will give a try!!

sriharivatsan said...

My favo one Viki..Hru...Missed ur mochai kottai kuzhambu too due to sys problem..Hope you are doing pretty well..

Ann said...

Viki, adding coconut in rasam is new to me.. and thanks for letting us know the other names of rasam :)

Anonymous said...

Love rasam too viki..looks real comfort !!

Vrinda said...

I lov rasam after a good lunch or dinner.V also make rasam with daal but that coconut powder part is new to me..will try ur version..And Viki Mysore is my fav place,i remember having that Thali from Mysore on the way to bangalore..

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Wow, Rasam I can just survive on only them... After my wedding I made Rasam and my brother-in-law told me its like Mysore Rasaam... Althought your looks far different from what I make... looks great and an awesome digestive aid... Happy Earth day to you too...

Priya Sriram said...

Rasam looks sooo yummy Viki! It sure is a different kind than mine! Will try out soon! :)

Manju said...

absolutely the ultimate comfort food!!

Priya Suresh said...

Really a different rasam, love the addition of coconut..

Ammu said...

Rasam is my fav. Mysore rasam looks simple & delicious.

Cham said...

Definetly a comfort food for me! Good one :)

Ashwini said...

Love Rasam..Rice, Rasam and a curry..comfort food. Looks yumm.

lissie said...

I love rasam...especially when I am sick. your version sounds great!

Indian Khana said...

Happy Earth Day to you too dear..rasam looks gud...with coconut...I shall try :)

Parita said...

First visit to your blog, great recipes you have got, i am big fan of rasam and i love adding shredded coconut to it gives lovely authentic flavor :)

lubnakarim06 said...

Oh wow filling soup.Looks spicy and yum...

Premyscakes said...

I love any kind of rasam. this looks great and i have never tried this.
bookmarked it.

Deepa Hari said...

I love rasam...Mysore rasam is new to me Viki....looks yum and recipe sounds great.

Unknown said...

Ican survive only on rice and rasam looks so tempting mmm i can smell that aroma

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

Nice rasam. I love pepper rasam and tomato rasam.

Adlak's tiny world said...

rasam is always a comforting food... adding coconut will add the taste too.. lovely

vidhas said...

Lovley rasam. Being a souht Indian my meal won't be complete without rasam

Varsha Vipins said...

Any Rasam is ok for me..love it ..all types..looks yum Viki..

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

super rasam.. very tasty. i love it.

Malar Gandhi said...

Nice anecdote...mommy's mysore silk was very touchy. Yeah I agree the name tag makes it 'high sounding'. I like mysore rasam...infact any kind of rasam!:)

Dori said...

Yum, looks very tasty!

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