Just to Share with you…..
In South India rasam normally forms the second course in menu. There are various ways of preparing it. It is normally mixed with white rice/plain cooked rice and eaten with different poriyals/curries as sidedish. Making rasam is very simple and will be prepared in five mins. Rasam made with dal water tastes good when compared to rasam made with plain water.
RASAM
Ingredients
1. Toor dal – 2 tsp.
2. Tomato – 1/2 or one small
3. Tamarind – very little (nellikkaisize / Gooseberry size)
4. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
5. Garlic – 2 cloves
6. Red chilli – 2
7. Oil -1 tsp
8. Curry leaves, corriander leaves, salt – as needed
9. Sambar powder -1/2 tsp
10. Rasampowder – 1/4 tsp
Preparation of Dal water
1. Cook dal with little turmeric powder ,tomato , one clove garlic by adding more water.
(mash dal well with water and make dal water)
Rasam Mixture
To dal water made by cooking dal add tamarind juice, sambar powder, pinch of chili powder (if needed), Rasam Powder, salt and check the taste.
Preparation
1. Pour 1 tsp of oil.
2. Grate another garlic clove and add that to oil.
3. Saute mustard seed, curry leaves, corriander leaves and dry red chilli.
4. Add above prepared Rasam Mixture.
5. When it is ready to boil switch of the gas and your rasam is ready.
Rasam Powder
1. Pepper -2 tsps
2. Jeera- 3 tsp
3. Corriander seeds – 12 tsp
4. Toor dhal – 1 tsp
Dry roast and grind it together and keep.
In south India especially TamilNadu sambar is very famous and common one. This sambar is different from the one we make for ven pongal with Moong dal. Toor dal sambar especially means drumstick sambar there. Nothing can beat that. Drumstick is not the only vegetable you can make sambar with it but you can make sambar with any vegetables like bringal/eggplant, carrot, small onions, bottle guard etc. Only Bitter guard is not used for making sambar since it is bitter in taste. Instead it is used for making puli kolumbu. In making samar some may grind a fry spoon of channadal, corriander seeds, redchilli etc and others make it as a simple one with out grinding anything. The sambar which I used to make is very very simple if I say I won’t use sambar powder too it will be a great surprise for you. But that is the truth.
Ingredients
To cook dal first
1. Toor dal – 1 cup
2. Tomato small – 1
3. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
4. Garlic cloves – 1
5. Oil – 1/2 tsp (optional)
For making Sambar
1. Vegetable – 1 cup ( anything you have except bitter guard)
2. Small size onion -1
3. Tamarind – very little (gooseberry /Nellikkai size )
4. Chilli powder – 1 tsp
5. Oil – 1 tsp
6. Mustard – 1/2 tsp
7. Curry leaves – as needed
8. A pinch of turmeric powder
9. Salt as needed
Preparation
1. Cook dal with all the ingredients in ”To cook dal first”.
2. Pour oil in kadai and saute mustard seeds and curry leaves.
3. Add chopped onions and fry.
4. Add chopped vegetables, a pich of turmeric and fry for 2 mins.
5. Add little water, chilli powder and fry.
6. Add cooked (mashed) dal.
7. Extract juice from tamarind by soaking it in water and add the juice.
8. Cook until tamarind smell goes away and vegetables get cooked.
Just to share with you……
Recently I came accross this recipe when I was browsing something. I thought of trying it yesterday. So I made javarusi ladoo /sabodhana ladoo yesterday. My friend along with her hubby who live close by came to my house and I gave them javarusi ladoo and asked them what it was? They told taste and smell is very good . They were not able to found out what it is. Try it out and tell me how it is.
SABHUDHANA/SAGO/JAVVARUSI LADOO
Ingredients
1. Sabudhana/javvarusi/Sago – 1 cup
2. Sugar -1 cup
3. Cashewnuts – 10
4. Dry grapes -10
5. Milk – 25 ml
6. Ghee -2 tsps
Preparation
1. Fry/Roast Sago in a dry kadai for 5 to 10 mins in medium flame.
2. Grind it into fine powder and sieve it to remove if big particles are there.
3. Roast Cashewnuts and dry grapes in ghee.
4. Add sago powder, sugar, cashewnuts and dry grapes. Sprinkle hot milkand make ladoo’s.
Tips
Make Fresh Eat fresh. Don’t keep it for days it may harden.
Tarmarind uses in herbal tea for reducing malaria fever. Due to its medicinal value,tamarind is used as an Ayurvedic Medicine for gastric and/or digestion problems.
Tamarind is used most frequently in tamarind juice, which is a natural coolant for the body and enjoyed by many during these hot Caribbean days.
The pulp is used for making sauces, curries and beverages. It cures dysentery and boils on human skin.
A preparation from the seed is useful for sizing cotton, woolens and jute fabrics and dying silk.
The seed oil serves as a varnish for toys, dolls, idols. Tamarind is used in cases of gingivitis and asthma and eye inflammations; and lotions and poultices made from the bark are applied on open sores and caterpillar rashes.
The tamarind powdered seeds are made into a paste for drawing boils and, with or without cumin seeds and palm sugar, are prescribed for chronic diarrhea and dysentery.
The leaves are some times used in subacid infusions, and a decoction is said to destroy worms in children, and is also useful for jaundice, and externally as a wash for sore eyes and ulcers.
Tamarind pulp, being rich in vitamin C, is valuable in preventing and curing scurvy.
It is significant that tamarind does not lose its antiscorbutic property on drying as in case of other fruits and vegetables.
Tamarind crushed with water and made into a poultice, the leaves are applied on inflamed joints and ankles. It reduces swelling and pain.
Just to Share with you……
I remember my first long trip was at the age of 10. Including my family members around sixty of us went on a 5 days tip to Ramaswaram,Kanyakumari etc. I heard that in olden days when people are travelling they will carry food (Katti soru) with them since they have to travel long distances by walking for days together and foods are not available on the way. We also made “Katti soru” in a different way. Guess what it is? Yes you got it . Itz nothing but Tamarind rice. The speacialty with tamarind rice is that we can keep it for minimum of two days. It won’t get spoiled.Another speciality is when hours passes the taste will be too good. So from that Trip onwards till now whenever I am planning to go outside I will plan for Tamarind rice.
Little information about Tamarind
Tamarind is said to cool the system and cleanse the blood. The pulp, rich in vitamins and minerals, is used in Chinese medicine. The bark treats asthma, and a paste made from the leaves or the seeds is used to treat boils. The flowers are said to reduce blood pressure.They contain vitamin C and are very useful in preventing and curing scurvy. The pulp of the ripe fruit is used in acute constipation and liver disorders like jaundice. The powdered seeds are given in dysentery. They are also applied locally for contracting the vaginal passage.
For more information about Tamarind uses click here.
See recipe for Cumin and Tamarind Refresher.
Ingredients
1. Rice – 1 Cup
2. Water – 2 Cups
3. Tamarind Raw – 1 big Lemon size ball
4. Red chillies – 15 Nos
5. Raw Peanuts – 1/2 Cup
6. Salt – Acc to taste
7. Mustard Seeds – 1/2 Tsp.
8. Channa dal – 1 Tsp.
9. Urad dal – 1 Tsp.
10. Curry leaves – few
11. Turmeric – 1/2 tsp.
12. Oil – 3 Tbsp.
13. Onion – 1
Preparation
1. Cook the rice with water and little salt and keep aside.
2. Soak Tamarind in water for sometime extract the juice .
3. Heat a pan and add oil.
4. Saute Mustard seeds,Channa dal,Urudal and curry leaves.
5. Add the Peanuts & fry for a minute.
6. Cutted Onions and Red chillies.
7. Pour in the tamarind extract and add turmeric powder.
8. Let it boil till it leaves the raw smell and oil seperates on top also the consistency of the gravy becomes semi solid.
9. Finaly add Cooked rice to gravy.