Tur Dal Rasam (using Lime Juice)

Wanna to cook a dish really quick n easy, yet “oh so light n delicious”? Don‘t know where to begin…here it is!

Weaned your baby off mother’s milk? Wish to introduce the li’l one to a healthy, tasty, easily digestible solid food? ...here it is!

Your tummy throwing tantrums? Yes we are busy cooking medicine for you…here it is!

Dish Type:  South Indian Vegetarian Stew

Preparation Time:  20 min

Cooking time:  30 min

Serves:  5 persons

Ingredients

For pressure cooking:

Tur dal                         50 gms

Water                          250 ml

Turmeric powder        A pinch

Curry leaves                1 sprig

Ghee                            A drop

For grinding:

Cumin seeds                ½ tsp

Pepper corns               ¼  tsp

Ginger (grated)           ½” piece

Green chilly                 1 no.

Raw coconut               2 tsps (optional)

While boiling

Water                          500 ml

Salt to taste                 1 tbsp (approx.)

For seasoning:

Ghee                            1 tsp

Mustard seeds                        ½ tsp

Cumin seeds                ½ tsp

For flavour and garnishing

Lime juice (extracted from 1 lime) and coriander leaves

Directions

Wash dhal with water, drain and keep aside.

Wash ginger, curry leaves and coriander leaves in salt water. Drain and keep aside.

Cook dhal in a pressure cooker along with water, turmeric powder, curry leaves and a dash of ghee.

While dal is getting cooked….

You can do grinding. For this, first, grate raw coconut. Grate ginger after peeling its skin. Grind all ingredients listed under “For grinding” using a few spoonfuls of water.

Add this ground chutney, water and salt to the cooked dhal and boil it for 5 to 10 min. on low flame. As you feast your eyes watching the light and bright yellow coloured rasam boiling with the jeera-ginger-pepper combine, it’s time to reach out for a small skillet to prepare seasoning.

Heat ghee in this skillet. Put mustard seeds. When they crackle put cumin seeds. Switch off the flame. Immediately pour it on to the boiling rasam.

Squeeze out the juice from fresh lime and add to the rasam. Garnish it with thoroughly washed and chopped fresh coriander leaves.

Tur Dal (with lime juice) Rasam is now ready.

Serve hot with steamed rice or as plain soup.

Tete – a – Tete:

Quantity of water, salt and spices can be altered to suit the consistency and taste that you desire.

While there are plenty of Rasam varieties, with a bit of experimentation, imagination and creativity, one can customize and create many more! Mangala’s Potluck presents select Rasam recipes that are healthy, nutritious, tried and tested over generations, easy to prepare and kindle you with ideas that help create variations on your own.

Recipe Contributor: Smt. Saraswathi