After a day long work and an hour drive it feels good to be home and spend some time with myself while waiting for the husband to return. As soon as I step in I rush to the kitchen to feed my growling stomach. I make a glass of milk and ransack the refrigerator and pantry hoping to find some snack or leftovers. As I do this my mind automatically starts thinking about our dinner which will be our next day’s lunch. And instantly I get reminded of my Mom. Unlike me, she prepares 3 meals a day and sometimes she will make an evening snack too. She has been doing this day after day, year after year and she has never complained once about it. This is a common thing in most of the Indian households.
It is believed that Rasam helps to cleanse our palate and the mild spices like pepper and cumin eases our digestive system. In our home, we eat meat only on Sundays. So Ma thoughtfully makes rasam for our Monday lunch. They are also made as part of our festive meals and even on Sick days. This light yet flavorful clear soup is usually served with hot steamed rice and a vegetable as a side. There is chronological order in which it is served. A traditional South Indian meal begins with Sambar or Kuzhambu, then rasam and ends with Curd/yogurt rice. As far as I have seen everyone loves to drink a glass of Rasam before or after a meal.
Vasanth & I equally love to have Rasam on any given day. Though we are thousands of miles away from home we adhere to the tradition of having Rasam as part of our meal and it is an ultimate comfort food for us.
Ingredients:
20 Cherries
1/2 Tomato
25 gram / Size of lemon Tamarind/Puli
1 tsp Pepper / Milagu
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds / Jeeragam
2 Garlic pods /Poondu
3/4 tsp Red Chili Powder / Cayenne Pepper
1/8 tsp Asafoetida / Perungayam
Oil 3 tsp
1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds
Salt to taste
3 cup Water
few Curry leaves
Handful of Chopped Cilantro / Coriander leaves
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