Whole Dal Rasam. Dal Rasam.

This is my Grandmother’s recipe. She is an amazing cook. Born in vegetarian family, but she could cook both veg and non-veg with her own signature. Every simple food….with her magic hands tastes like heaven! So….she used to make this on friday morning(for herself)….wonderdering why?! Yeah….she takes oil bath and make this steaming hot rasam and treats it like her soup! It is a custom to have steaming hot soup after your oil/head bath. On the other hand she prepares non-vegetarian ‘ Aattu kaal paaya/goat’s leg soup’ for me! Is’nt that sweet!

Ingredients:

Thoor dal 1 cup
Tamarind paste 1 spoon
Tomato 1 large diced
Coriander leaves few
Garlic with skin 8-10 cloves
Dry red chilies 5
Rasam powder 1-2 spoons
Turmeric powder 1/4 spoon
Salt
Mustard seeds 1/2 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/2 spoon
Asafoetida 1/4 spoon
Curry leaves few
Oil few spoons.

Method:

In a pan add few spoons of oil and add 1-2 cups of water. Bring this to boil. Add salt and thoor dal to this. Cover and cook. Let the dal get cooked and but still intact. Don’t throw the dal cooked water. Add tamarind paste to this water. Set this aside.

Semi crush the garlic along with skin.

One can use dry chilies as such or make them into flakes.(making into flakes will give real heat to the stuff)

In a pan, heat few spoons of oil. Add mustard, cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves and dry chilies. Let them pop and splutter well.

Now add garlic and fry for a while. Add salt, turmeric and rasam powder. To this set up add the dal-tamarind water.

Add diced tomatoes and coriander leaves.

Bring them to one boil and remove from the stove.

Serve hot with plain rice.