Pepper Rasam

Ingredients:

Ingredients for Masala:

4 tsp Black gram seeds / Uddina Bele

4 tsp Coriander seeds / Kottambari

4 tsp Pepper / Kaalu Menasu

2 tsp Cumin seeds / Jeerige

30-35 Curry leaves

1/8 tsp Asafetida powder

1 tsp grated dry Coconut

Ingredients for Rasam:

1 large Tomato

1/4 small sized Onion

2 Green Chillies

1.5 tsp prepared Pepper Rasam powder

Grape sized Jaggary

Grape sized Tamarind

Pinch of Turmeric powder

7-8 strands of Coriander leaves

1- 1.5 cup cooked Yellow Lentils / Toor dal / Thogari bele

Salt to taste

8-10 Curry leaves

3/4 tsp Ginger Garlic paste

Big pinch of Asafetida powder

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

2 tsp Oil

Recipe:

Dry roast all the masala ingredients except asafetida powder till they give nice aroma. Add asafetida powder and fry them for about 20-30 seconds. Cool them to room temperature.

Grind the above fried ingredients into smooth powder. (If refrigerated in an airtight container, can be preserved for longer period.)

Put tamarind and 1/4 cup of water in a bowl, mash, squeeze it properly and keep it aside.

Chop tomato into thin longer pieces as shown in the picture below. Chop onion into small pieces and cut the green chillies into two pieces as shown in the picture below.

Put mustard seeds, cumin seeds and oil in a thick bottomed vessel/pan. Once it starts spluttering, add ginger garlic paste and fry them for about 1 min in medium flame. Add curry leaves, green chillies, asafetida powder, chopped onion and turmeric powder. Fry them for about 3-4 mins in medium flame until onion becomes light golden in color. Add chopped tomato and fry them for about 1 min.

Add tamarind juice, salt, jaggary, 1.5 tsp of prepared rasam powder, 2-3 cups of water in a vessel and cook them well well by covering a lid for about 20-30 mins. Add cooked yellow lentils and bring them to boil. (Cook the yellow lentils in a pressure cooker (3-4 whistles)by adding sufficient amount of water. The cooked yellow lentils can preserved in refrigerator for about 8-10 days.) Add salt, tamarind juice, water if required. Keep the rasam in low flame for about 5 mins. Add chopped coriander leaves, mix them well and cover the lid. It goes well with rice.