Adding another one to my growing repertoire of rasams. Tomato rasam is my current favorite and well received by everyone in the family.
Anyone well versed with the benefits of this fruit cum vegetable would be aware that cooked ripe tomatoes are the best source of Lycopene, an antioxidant which helps ward off a variety of cancers. In addition to being low in calories and high on water content, it is great for your skin and waistline. (Lycopene is also the one that also gives tomatoes their luscious red color.)
Read on for the recipe :
Preparation Time - 12-15 mins
Ingredients - 3 medium tomatoes (ripe juicy ones), 1 lemon sized ball of tamarind, 2 tsp rasam powder, salt to taste, pinch of turmeric, coriander for garnishing.
To be ground in a coarse paste - 5-6 shallots or 1/2 of a small onion, 1 inch long ginger, 3-4 garlic cloves, 3 tsp chopped corainder roots, 1 sprig curry leaves.
For tempering - 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 sprig curry leaves, 1-2 broken red chillis, 2 generous pinches of asafoetida, 2 tsp oil.
Preparation - Take all the ingredients to be ground in a mortar and pestle. Crush everything together so that they give off a lovely aroma.
Tear/chop the tomatoes and put in a mixing bowl. Add the ground paste and rasam powder. Mix with hands and crush the tomato pieces slightly.
Soak the tamarind in a bowl of warm water. Crush it with hands and separate all the pulp. Repeat with another 1/2 cup water. Throw away the remaining solids.
Cooking - Take the tamarind extract along with 4 cups water in a large saucepan. Add salt and turmeric. Boil for 5-6 minutes till theraw taste goes away.
Add the tomato mixture and boil fr another 5-6 minutes. Adjust salt if required.
Heat the oil in a tempering pan. Add the broken red chillis, cumin and mustard seeds to the hot oil. Once spluttering starts, add asafoetida and curry leaves. Fry for 30 seconds.
Pour the tempering over the contents of the saucepan. Boil for 1 minute and then remove from flame.
Serve hot with rice, ghee and papad.
Note - This can also be served as a soup to the kids. Just strain the liquid and discard the solids. Add 1 tsp sugar and a dash of tomato ketchup to each bowl and mix it. ( I prefer adding less rasam powder if I am planning to use it as a soup.)
Anyone well versed with the benefits of this fruit cum vegetable would be aware that cooked ripe tomatoes are the best source of Lycopene, an antioxidant which helps ward off a variety of cancers. In addition to being low in calories and high on water content, it is great for your skin and waistline. (Lycopene is also the one that also gives tomatoes their luscious red color.)
Read on for the recipe :
Preparation Time - 12-15 mins
Ingredients - 3 medium tomatoes (ripe juicy ones), 1 lemon sized ball of tamarind, 2 tsp rasam powder, salt to taste, pinch of turmeric, coriander for garnishing.
To be ground in a coarse paste - 5-6 shallots or 1/2 of a small onion, 1 inch long ginger, 3-4 garlic cloves, 3 tsp chopped corainder roots, 1 sprig curry leaves.
For tempering - 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 sprig curry leaves, 1-2 broken red chillis, 2 generous pinches of asafoetida, 2 tsp oil.
Preparation - Take all the ingredients to be ground in a mortar and pestle. Crush everything together so that they give off a lovely aroma.
Tear/chop the tomatoes and put in a mixing bowl. Add the ground paste and rasam powder. Mix with hands and crush the tomato pieces slightly.
Soak the tamarind in a bowl of warm water. Crush it with hands and separate all the pulp. Repeat with another 1/2 cup water. Throw away the remaining solids.
Cooking - Take the tamarind extract along with 4 cups water in a large saucepan. Add salt and turmeric. Boil for 5-6 minutes till theraw taste goes away.
Add the tomato mixture and boil fr another 5-6 minutes. Adjust salt if required.
Heat the oil in a tempering pan. Add the broken red chillis, cumin and mustard seeds to the hot oil. Once spluttering starts, add asafoetida and curry leaves. Fry for 30 seconds.
Pour the tempering over the contents of the saucepan. Boil for 1 minute and then remove from flame.
Serve hot with rice, ghee and papad.
Note - This can also be served as a soup to the kids. Just strain the liquid and discard the solids. Add 1 tsp sugar and a dash of tomato ketchup to each bowl and mix it. ( I prefer adding less rasam powder if I am planning to use it as a soup.)