How familiar are you with south Indian recipes? Because if you are not, you may not be able to appreciate my little piece here on "Rasam", which is a part of every south Indian meal package. Some of the ingredients that goes into making this dish are tamarind, Toor dhal, rasam powder, asafoetida, turmeric powder, some tomatoes thrown in for a good measure and curry leaves, coriander and mustard seeds for what is called the "tadka" in ghee. It is relatively easy to make and it is light on the palate. You can either drink it up like soup or have it the conventional way with steaming rice. I particularly like it with steaming boiled rice with pappad . Of course, when it comes to cooking you can try out new ideas and experiment with what you have. The options are endless and you can add your own twist to the taste. Another variant of rasam is what you make with raw ginger. The idea is to allow the juice of ginger to dominate the taste in the preparation and finally top it with a dash of lime. This is especially recommended if you are down and out with a bad cold. While serving rasam may follow another south Indian dish, "sambhar". But it may form the main dish in some regions of the south, like in Karnataka. In fact, you have what is called "Mysore rasam" which is yet another variant. There is an age old belief or maybe it was your grandmother's secret that when rasam made in a particular vessel( known as "eeyai chombu"in Tamil), will go onto enhancing its taste. I will vouch for it, as we have recently made the purchase and it does give it a distinct flavor. So why not add this culinary item to your cooking regime and enjoy rasam in all its types and tastes.
