Lemon rasam

Ingredients:
Lemon - 2 small indian lemon
Ginger - 1 small piece
Green chillies - 3-4 slit and cut into small bits
Haldi powder - 1/4 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Rasam powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves
Mustard seeds for seasoning - 1 tsp
Ghee
Tomatoe - 1 small
Toor dal - 1/2 cup

Method:
Take a vessel filled half with water and keep on the gas.
Add ginger cut into small pieces, green chillies slit and cut.
Add salt, haldi powder,hing,tomatoe cut into small pieces, and curry leaves and allow to boil.
In between keep Toor dal with water and pressure cook.
After the dal is cooked pour the dal along with its water on the liquid cooking on the gas.
Allow this also to boil nicely for 5 minutes.
Now cut the lemons and squeeze into the rasam and mix nicely.(you can add lemon juice as per your taste and requirement depending on how sour you want the rasam to be.
Now garnish with coriander leaves.
Take a kadai add ghee and season with mustard seeds.
The lemon rasam is hot and ready to be had with plain white rice and some dry curry and roasted papad.
This lemon rasam tastes wonderful with rice and nice and khatta.

Jeera Milagu Rasam (black peppercorns, cumin seeds rasam)

Ingredients:

Tamarind - 1 medium gooseberry size

Black peppercorns - 2 tsps

Jeera (cumin seeds) - 2 tsps

Hing (asafoetida) - 1/2 tsp

Haldi powder (turmeric) -1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Salt - as required

Ghee for seasoning.

Method:

Make a thick extract of tamarind and in a dry grinder powder the peppercorns, jeera along with curry leaves since it will give a good flavour.

Now take any vessel pour the tamarind water and the coarse powders, salt, turmeric powder,hing and allow it to boil.

Add some more water and allow it to boil.

You will get a strong aroma and flavour of the boiling rasam

After it has boiled and heated well, remove from fire.

Now if you want add some coriander leaves to it .

Take a kadai add some ghee and season with mustard seeds and 3-4 curry leaves,which will enhance the taste and smell of the rasam.

This rasam can be had as a soup if you want to as it will be very refreshing ,and also when you have nasal cold or fever, this rasam will be soothing and tasteful to your tongue you will love it

since during fever our tongue gives a bitter taste when we eat something. This rasam will be very strong and give a good taste to your taste buds.

You can also have it with rice and some dry curry or even pappad.

Moar (diluted buttermilk rasam)

Ingredients:

Diluted buttermilk - 1 glass

Turmeric powder --1 tsp

Daniya (coriander seeds) - 1 tsp

pepper corns - 3-4

methi seeds (fenugreek) -1/2 tsp

Tur dhal - (red gram dhal) -1 tsp

Red chillies -3-4

Curry leaves - few

Asafoetida (hing) -a pinch

Salt - as required

mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Take a vessel and pour the diluted buttermilk in it.

2. Dry roast daniya seeds,methi seeds, pepper corns,tur dhal and red chillies.

3. Now powder the roasted items in a dry grinder.

4. Add the powdered items to the buttermilk and mix thoroughly.

5. Place the buttermilk on the gas and add salt, turmeric powder,hing and curry leaves and allow it to boil.

6. As soon as it starts coming together and the froth comes, put off the gas. (do not boil for a long time as it will curdle).

7. Now remove from fire and season in 1 tsp of oil mustad seeds.

This dish can be had with plain rice.It is quite sour and a bit spicy also.

Vepampoo Rasam (Neem flower rasam)

Vepampoo rasam is my Grandma's favourite recipe. I make it quite often since it is a favourite in our family. It is also healthy and good for the stomach. You can also fry neem flowers in a little ghee with a pinch of salt and mix it with plain rice and have it since it is very tasty and delicious hope you try this recipe and like it.

You can conveniently get this vepampoo in any south indian grocery shop. They sell it in packets, or if you are lucky and any one close to you either a relative or friend who live in villas and happened to have a neem tree in their garden, they can provide you with these dried flowers which just fall down and they are collected by the owner and cleaned and put into use.

In India most people who live in bungalows have neem trees.I shall take you on a journey to prepare the vepampoo rasam.

Ingredients:

1 lemon sized tamarind (soaked in water)

Dried Neem flowers -1 Tblsp

Red chillies -3

Turmeric powder (haldi powder) 1 tsp

Rasam powder -1 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida (hing) a pinch

Curry leaves - few

Salt - as required

Ghee for seasoning -2 tsps

For Seasononing:

Mustard seeds 1 tsp

Red chillies -3

Dried neem flowers - 1 Tblsp

Ghee - 2 tsps

Method:

1. Take a vessel with tamarind water and place it on the gas.

2. Put salt,turmeric powder,asafoetida (hing), rasam powder,curry leaves and allow it to boil.

3.When the thick liquid rasam boils and reduces add some more water and allow it to boil.

4.Meanwhile clean the dry neem flowers so that there are no stones in it.

5. After the rasam has boiled remove it from the gas.

6. Now take a kadai and season with ghee, the vepampoo, mustard seeds,red chillies.

Now the rasam is ready to be served with plain rice and papadam or any vegetable curry of your choice which you make.