A simple rejuvenating Rasam for the winter months.

A perfect tonic as well as a special cuisine, Rasam is a panacea for various ailments of the stomach, for coughs and colds, for fever, chest congestion and stuffy nose making it the perfect winter soup.

Rasam is also taken for intestinal infections, as a blood purifier, a powerful immune booster and a daily tonic for overall health.

Rasam is derived from the sanskrit word rasa. Rasa means juice, essence or taste. The word is used in classical Indian music for the mood that the musical piece invokes. So Rasam is a juice that invokes an essence or mood.

When I was young, my mother or grandmother used to make rasam daily. The various rasam recipes were staple in our kitchen (many of which I will put on this website.)

Depending on the rasam, as many spices can be used and it may make the rasam hot and spicy it is often eaten with ghee and rice.

The first taste of solid food a baby has is rice mixed with rasam. There is a ceremony called Annaprasana where the baby is fed solid food around 6 to 8 months of age even if the baby continues to breastfeed. Well cooked rice and legume with ghee and rasam and sweet rice payasam or pudding is the norm for babies initiation to solid food in southern India.

I’ll be posting different rasam recipes and here is one for the winter months. This will help with the blood circulation and prevent any air borne diseases such as colds.

Ingredients:
Split yellow lentil: 1 tbsp
Black pepper: 1 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Asafoetida: a small chunk or ⅛ tsp powder.
Tamarind paste: 1 tsp
Crushed tomatoes: 1 cup
Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp
Curry leaves: 2 sprigs (optional)
Coriander leaves: optional

Method: Dry saute in a pan in the order shown below starting with split yellow lentil, black pepper and asafoetida. Add red chili and cumin and saute a little longer until the lentil turns golden brown. Remove from heat and add the curry leaves if available.

Grind the ingredients in a coffee grinder and set aside.

Heat 5 cups of water in a pot. Add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add salt, tamarind paste, turmeric, palm sugar, and the ground up spices. Bring to a boil.

Garnish with coriander.

Enjoy the rasam like a soup or with cooked millet or rice and a teaspoonful of ghee.