For tempering:- 1 tbsp oil, 2-3 pinches mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp hing, 1/8 tsp turmeric powder, 2 dried red chilies (broken), 1/2 tsp urad dal, 15 to 20 methi seeds, 2 cloves of garlic (crushed), 1 spring of curry leaves.
10 to 12 black pepper, crushed
1 green chilies, chopped
1.5 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp tamarind
Salt to taste
Method:
1) Pressure cook toor dal by adding 2 cups water. Once toor dal is cooked, drain and save the water. Squeeze out water from dal too.
2) Add 1/2 cup hot water in tamarind. Let the tamarind soak in for 10 minutes. Then squeeze the tamarind and get the juice.
3) Mix 2 cups plain water and 2 cups dal water into a saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Add chopped tomatoes, green chili and half of tamarind juice. Simmer for atleast 20 minutes or until tomatoes soften and mashed up.
4) Heat oil in a tadka pan. add urad dal, methi seeds. Wait till color turns to light brown. Add garlic, and red chilies. Add mustard seeds, hing, turmeric and curry leaves. Pour this tadka over rasam.
5) Add salt, crushed pepper, coriander powder and cumin powder. Boil for atleast 10 to 15 minutes.
Check the taste and adjust the spices. Add some tamarind juice if sourness is required.
Serve hot with rice or have it as a soup.
Tips:
1) Use nicely ripe red tomatoes.
2) If you don't like chunky rasam, puree 2 tomatoes instead of chopping.
3) Rasam should be spicy. However, to make it subtle, reduce the amount of black pepper.
4) Flavors intensify (in good way), if you serve rasam after couple of hours.
Ingredients: 1 tbsp butter, room temperature 300 gram fresh broccoli florets (1 and 1/2 cup small florets) 1 medium onion, chopped (3/4 cup) 1 medium carrot, chopped Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 tbsp all-purpose flour 2 cups Water (tip 1) 1/4 cup cream (I used half and half) Croutons (optional)
Method: 1) Heat 1 tbsp butter into a deep saucepan. Add broccoli, onion and carrot. Also add salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat until onion is translucent. About 5 to 6 minutes. 2) Add all purpose flour and keep stirring for couple of minutes. Add water and bring to boil. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. 3) Pour in the cream. and give a good stir. Blend it well and make fine puree. Adjust salt and pepper. and boil for couple of minutes Serve hot with homemade croutons.
Tip: 1) Vegetable stock or chicken stock may be used instead of water.
Ingredients: 2 to 3 Mushrooms 3 Tbsp Carrot, Julienne 3 tbsp Capsicum, Julienne 2 tbsp cabbage, finely chopped 2 to 3 baby corn, cut into 1 inch pieces 1 green chili, finely chopped 1.5 tsp garlic paste 1 tsp oil 4 cups vegetable stock 30 grams Noodles 1/4 tsp white pepper powder 1 tsp vinegar 1 stalk spring onion, Keep white and green part separate, chop finely Salt to taste
Method: 1) Boil sufficient water to cook noodles. Add 1 tsp salt to the water. Add noodles in boiling water. Cook the noodles and add to cold water after cooked completely. 2) Heat oil in a wok. Add green chili and garlic paste. Saute carrot, capsicum, cabbage, baby corn, white part of spring onion and mushrooms for couple of minutes. Add vegetable stock and let it boil. 3) Once stock starts boiling, add vinegar, and salt to taste. Boil for couple of minutes. Add noodles and cook for a minute. Sprinkle white pepper powder. serve into the soup bowl. Garnish with spring onion. Serve hot.
Tips: 1) If vegetable stock is not available, use water. OR you may use any other type of stock like chicken stock.
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp oil 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 inch ginger piece, finely chopped 1 to 2 green chilies, finely chopped 1 cup finely chopped vegetables:- green bell pepper, carrot, mushrooms, white part of spring oion 3 cups vegetable stock - Click here for the recipe 1 tbsp soy sauce 1/2 tsp vinegar 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup 1/2 tbsp maggi chili masala sauce 1 tbsp corn starch or corn flour 2 pinches white pepper powder salt to taste For garnishing - green part of spring onion, finely chopped 1/2 cup Noodles (optional)
Method: Noodles: Boil the noodles in salt water and cook until 80 to 90 % done. Deep fry half of the noodles until crispy. Keep the remaining noodles to add in the soup.
1) Heat a tbsp of oil in a wok. Add finely chopped ginger and garlic to it. Saute for 4 to 5 seconds. Add green chili and chopped vegetables. Cook the vegetables until half done. Add salt. 2) Add 3 cups vegetable stock. Once it starts boiling add 1 tbsp soy sauce (Light soy sauce), tomato ketchup and Maggi chili sauce. Let it boil for a minute. Taste the soup and adjust salt. Also sprinkle white pepper powder. 3) In a small bowl, mix corn starch and 1/4 cup water. Blend well and add to soup. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Add vinegar. If you are going to add noodles, add cooked noodles. Serve into a soup bowl. Garnish with finely chopped green part of green onion and fried noodles.
Tips: 1) If the vegetable stock is not available,use plain water.
Ingredients: 1 medium Green Mango Jaggery 1 tsp Desi ghee 1/4 tsp cumin seeds 2 pinches Hing 3 to 4 curry leaves 2 Green chilies, (paste) 1/4 cup chopped Cilantro Salt to taste
Method: 1) Pressure cook Green mango upto 2 whistle. Peel the mango while it is still warm. After peeling grate the pulpy part if it is little hard. If it is fully cooked, then separate it from the pit and put in the blender. 2) Take equal portion of jaggery. Mix in the pulp. Blend this mixture and make a puree. If the mango pulp is little stringy then strain through a fine mesh. 3) Heat a pan. Add ghee and let it become hot. Add cumin seeds, hing, curry leaves and green chili paste. Then add green mango puree and required amount of water. Add salt let it simmer for few minutes. Garnish with Cilantro and serve hot with white rice. It also taste good on its own.
Ingredients: 2 medium bunch of Spinach 1 small Onion, finely chopped 1 small garlic clove, slightly crushed 1 small green chili, slit (optional) 1 tsp Butter Pinch of Cinnamon powder / 1 small Cinnamon stick Salt to taste Black pepper 2 tbsp heavy cream
Method: 1) Remove the stems and clean the spinach. Wash and blanch. Drain the water and puree. 2) Heat 1 tsp butter. If you are using cinnamon stick, add it now and saute for few seconds. 3) Add garlic clove and green chili. saute for 30 seconds. Add finely chopped Onion and saute until translucent. 4) Add spinach puree and boil over medium heat. Add salt to taste, pinch of cinnamon powder. Sprinkle little black pepper, garnish with heavy cream and serve hot.
Note: 1) Add 1/2 cup milk or 1/4 cup heavy cream for creamy taste and texture. Add it to grinder while blending spinach. 2) For thick consistency, use 1 tbsp Rice flour or Maida. Do not add directly. First, mix it with 2 tbsp water and then add it to soup. Boil for few minutes over medium-low heat.
Ingredients: 4 Corn 6 kokum pieces 2 green chilies 1/2 tsp ghee 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder 2 curry leaves salt to taste
Method: 1) Remove corn kernels with knife. Boil until soft (I pressure cooked them). Grind to fine paste by adding some water. Strain and squeeze out all the juice. 2) Soak Kokum in a 1/2 cup of hot water. After 30 minutes crush them into water, strain it and add it to Corn juice. 3) In a small saucepan, heat ghee. Add cumin, asafoetida, chilies and curry leaves. Pour the corn juice. Add salt to taste. Serve this soup cold or lukewarm. Also it goes pretty good with white rice.
Ingredients: 1/2 Toor Dal 1/4 cup Tamarind (Soak in water and make 1 cup juice) 4 to 6 Shallots or pearl onions (peeled) 4 to 6 medium cubes of Bottle gourd 5 to 6 medium cubes of Eggplant 2 Drumsticks, cut into 3 inch sticks 2 medium tomatoes, big cubes 1 tsp Jaggery Sambar Masala For tempering 2 tsp Oil, 1 tsp Urad Dal, 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds, 1/8 tsp Hing (Asafoetida), 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder, 10 curry leaves, 1 green chilies
Method: 1) First make Sambar Masala. Pressure cook Toor dal until tender. whisk nicely. 2) Heat oil for tempering. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida, curry leaves and green chili. Add onion and drumsticks, saute for 1 minute. Add 1 cup water, cover and cook over medium heat until half done. 3) Once drumsticks and onions are half cooked, add eggplant and bottle gourd. Add tamarind juice and 1 tsp salt. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add some water if needed. 4) After all vegetables get cooked add cooked toor dal and little water. Taste and add salt if needed. Add ground Sambar masala, jaggery, and tomatoes. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat. Add 1/2 tsp red chili powder for little color. 5) Taste samhar, and add any ingredient if needed. Serve hot with Idli, Dosa, Uttappa, Medu Vada and other south Indian recipes.
Note: 1) Do not roast Masala ingredients for too long it can change color of sambar. 2) Peel bottle gourd before adding, the peels take longer to get cooked. 3) Add Potatoes, red pumpkin in sambar according to your taste. 4) If you don't have shallots, just dice normal onion into big chunks and use it.
Servings: for 3 to 4 persons (approx 1 cup per person)
Ingredients: 2 tbsp grated Carrot 2 tbsp Cauliflower, finely chopped 2 tbsp Cabbage, finely chopped 2 tsp Garlic paste 2 tbsp Oil 3 tbsp Cilantro, finely chopped 4 tbsp Green Onion (Only green part) Salt to taste 1/4 tsp Black pepper powder 1 tsp Vinegar or Lemon juice 2 tbsp Corn Starch 4 cups water 1 tsp Soya sauce
Method: 1) Heat a wok or pan. Add garlic paste and saute until pink in color. Do not saute too long. 2) Add Cauliflower, Carrot and Cabbage. saute for 30 to 40 seconds over high heat. Add half of the green onions, saute for 10 to 15 seconds. Immediately add 3 and 1/2 cups water out of 4 cups. Also add salt to taste. Stir well. 3) To thicken the soup, we will be adding Corn starch. Mix 2 tbsp corn starch in the remaining 1/2 cup of water. Remove all the lumps. Once the soup starts boiling, add corn starch mixture into it and keep stirring to prevent lumps. 4) Let it simmer for couple of minutes to let the rawness of Corn starch go away. After 2 minutes turn off the heat. Add vinegar and Cilantro. Give a nice stir. Pour into serving bowl. Sprinkle little Pepper and garnish with Green Onions. Also add few drops of soy sauce if you like.
Note: 1) In this soup vinegar tastes better than lemon juice. But if you don't like flavor of vinegar, lemon juice also works. 2) Adjust the consistency of soup according to your liking.
Ingredients
