Hot Jeera (ga) Rasam

Necessity is a driving force to learn or invent new things. Teddy was down with a terrible cold. So I decided to introduce him to some traditional treatment to bring down the cold and phlegm. I called my mom for solutions and she promptly gave me the recipe for a spicy Jeera rasam to be served with hot rice and ghee. It turned out great except that I twisted the recipe to suit our palate. I dont like the taste of tamarind in rasam and balance it with tomatoes. Hence this recipe will move away from the traditional jeera rasam.

Ingredients

For the coarse paste
Cumin seeds  1 tbsp
Curry leaves 1 sprig
Tuvar dal 2 tsps
Pepper corns 6-7
Dry red chillies 3

Supporting Ingredients
Salt to taste
Rasam powder 1 tsp
Jaggery 1 tsp
Tamarind paste 1/4-1 tbsp
Stewed tomatoes 2 tbsps
Water 1 1/2 cup

For Tempering
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Mustard seeds 1tsp
Dry red chilies 2 
Asafoetida 1 tsp
Curry leaves 1 sprig
Cooking oil 1 tsp
Ghee 2 tsps

Method
1. To make a coarse paste, soak the ingredients for 30 minutes in just enough water and grind them.
2. In a wok, dilute the tamarind paste in water and allow it to boil with the rasam powder.
3. Add the coarse paste to the tamarind water and let it thicken giving out a fresh aroma of cumin.
4. Add the stewed tomatoes, jaggery and salt to taste. Let the rasam boil for a couple of minutes.
5. In a wok, heat oil, ghee and add splutter the ingredients required for garnish. Pour it into the jeera rasam.

Serve hot with ghee rice.