Poondu (Garlic) Rasam

Another simple, healthy & flavorful rasam recipe from the traditional series.

Garlic rasam mixed with hot rice and a dab of ghee is not only comforting, but also has a lot of medicinal qualities especially for the sick & bed-ridden. With garlic & cumin & pepper, you can't find a better home remedy for cold & sore-throat!

But, wait! You don't have to be sick to enjoy this aromatic & flavorful rasam. Hot & spicy garlic rasam makes a perfectly warming soup on any cold rainy day!

Basic Info
Complexity - Simple
Prep time - 5 mins
Cook time - 20 mins
Serves - 3-4

Ingredients
Tomatoes - 3 Medium (ripe, sour)
Cooked Toor dal - 2 tsp (pressure cooked & mashed)
Tamarind - Small marble sized
Water - 2 cups + 1 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Hing - 2 pinches
Salt - to taste

To Crush Coarsely
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
Pepper corns - 2 tsp
Dry red chilli - 1 no
Garlic - 7-8 cloves (leave the skin on)

To Season
Ghee - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Cilantro - few stalks

Method

Mix 2 tsp of cooked toor dal with a cup of water and keep it ready until use.

Heat a cup of water and soak tamarind in it for 10 mins. Extract about 2 cups of tamarind water from it. Filter the water & discard the pulp.

Using your hands, squish & mash the tomatoes into tamarind water. Add turmeric water, salt, hing and mix well.

In the meanwhile, take a mixer, add cumin seeds & pepper corns and give it a pulse. Next, add dry red chilli and give it a second pulse and finally, add garlic cloves and give it the third & last pulse. The idea is to coarsely grind the ingredients. Alternatively, you can use mortar & pestle and crush them into a coarse mixture.

Add this crushed mixture to the tamarind water. 

Bring it to a rolling boil on medium heat (takes about 10-12 mins). Then, add dal water, adjust salt and let it froth (takes about 2-3 mins).

Remove from heat & cover it completely for atleast 15 mins for all the flavors to be locked inside.

Heat a tsp of ghee, splutter mustard seeds and add it to the rasam. Garnish with curry leaves & cilantro and hot rasam is ready to be served.