Garlic Rasam

Garlic Rasam - Tasty recipe with numerous health benefits - aids digestion, acts as antioxidant and gives you instant relief during cough and cold.

Ingredients - 

2 tomatoes

4-5 garlic cloves

A small piece of jaggery

1 spoon Coriander seeds (Dhaniya)

1/2 spoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)

1/2 cup split moong dal

1/4 fenugreek seeds

2 red Chillies

4-5 black pepper 

Coriander leaves

Bunch of curry leaves

1 spoon rasam powder

1/4 spoon turmeric powder (Haldi)

A pinch of asafoetida (Hing)

1 spoon mustard seeds

Salt

Method -

1. Mash the tomatoes with your hand/vegetable masher and keep it aside. Or else you can finely chop the tomatoes into small cubes. 

2  Cook the moong dal in cooker for 4 whistles and keep it aside. 

3. Dry roast cumin seeds, coriander seeds, pepper, fenugreek seeds, garlic and red chilli one by one slightly for 3-4 mins each and grind it to a coarse powder using mortar pestle.

4. Strain the tamarind juice.

5. Now take a cooking pot add tamarind juice, mashed tomato pulp, turmeric powder, asafoetida, jaggery, salt and crushed dry ingredients that you have prepared earlier and allow the mixture to boil for 15mins.

6. Once the raw smell goes, add the boiled moong dal and add more water if required to adjust the rasam consistency and allow it to boil till you see froth on the mixture.

7. Take a tadka pan, add 2 spoons of ghee, once the ghee is hot add mustard seeds and curry leaves and allow the mustard seeds to splutter and then pour the tadka into the rasam. 

8. Switch off the flame and add some chopped coriander leaves. 

Note : you can enjoy this spicy, tangy rasam with hot steamed rice for lunch or simply you can have it like a soup with toasted crispy bread sticks for your dinner.