I think Chettinad People make nice ‘Kozhi Rasam’….but I never came across their recipe. Here is my own version…it tured out great to me. I know…its sounds weird, non-veg rasam! Chicken in tamarind water may be unpalatable for some of you! Its a rainy day dish for me…when I get bored with soups and stew….rasam is my comfort food! It does tastes better…give a try!

Ingredients:

Chicken (skin-on, bone-in) 1/4 kilo
Tamarind (gooseberry size)
Garlic 1 whole head – peeled and semi crushed
Dry red chilies 6-8 broken
Curry leaves few
Salt
Turmeric powder 1/4 spoon
Whole peppercorns 1/4 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/4 spoon
Asafoetida 1/4 spoon
Mustard seeds 1/2 spoon
Freshly ground – pepper powder 1 spoon
Freshly ground cumin powder 1 spoon
Sesame oil few spoons.

Method:

Soak tamarind pulp in warm water for 20 minutes. Then using your hands…mash it and extract thick milk. Add 2-4 cups of water to this and set aside.

In a deep iron wok, heat few spoons of oil. Add garlic and dry red chilies.

Add washed and cleaned chicken, saute for few minutes. Add 1 cup of water and cook the meat till tender.

Then add tamarind water. Add salt, turmeric and rasam powder(pepper+cumin powders) to it. Bring this to boil.

Meanwhile….heat a small iron pan. Add oil and wait till its smoky hot. Now add mustard, cumin, whole pepper, asafoetida and curry leaves. Let it pop and splutter well.

Now run this seasoning over the rasam.

Serve steaming hot along with plain steam cooked rice. Good choice during rainy days.