Neem Flower Rasam: Serves 4

Neem Flower Rasam: Serves 4

Quite a few rasams use herbs and ingredients that are rich in medicinal values. The Neeem flower rasam is a great example. This rasam does not use asafoetida or curry leaves.


Ingredients:
½ cup tur dal
Tamarind
4 dried red chilies
½ teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon jeera
1 finely chopped (optional)
½ cup dried neem flowers
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Soak tamarind pulp in hot water. Extract the tamarind and boil that water on a slow fire for 10 minutes.

2. Fry the mustard, red chillies and jeera in half teaspoon of ghee till the mustard splutters and add this to the hot tamarind water along with the finely chopped tomato.

3. Cook the tur dal and add it to this mixture along with a cup of water and boil this for 3 minutes.

4. Fry the neem flowers in one table spoon of ghee till it turns golden brown and add this to the mixture.

5. Boil for a few seconds and cover the dish with a lid for five minutes before serving.

Nandu (Crab) Rasam: Serves 4

Not all rasams are vegetarian. From free range chicken to mutton ribs there’s a mix of ingredients that get tossed into a quintessential rasam like this Crab rasam, a delicacy in Chennai.

Ingredients:

4 medium-sized crabs
6-7 finely chopped onion shallots
1 finely chopped tomato
a handful of curry leaves (chopped)
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt (to taste)
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons cooking oil

For the Rasam Masala:
3 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumi seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
3 pieces dry red chilies
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
4 cloves of garlic
a small piece of ginger

Method:

1. Clean and wash crabs

2. Fry the ingredients for rasam masala for few minutes on medium heat. Grind the roasted ingredients to a smooth paste along with tomato and ginger garlic.

3. Heat oil in a pan, add fennel seeds followed by chopped onions, curry leaves and sauté for a few seconds. Reduce the heat, add the ground masala, stir well and cook for a minute.

4. Add turmeric and 2 ¼ cups of water, season with salt and mix well. Increase the heat, cover with lid and let rasam boil for 7 to 8 minutes.

5. Add the washed crabs to boiling rasam, stir well and simmer for 5 minutes until crabs turn orange-red in colour.

6. Serve as a soup or as an accompaniment with rice.

About the Author: Ashwin Rajagopalan is a cross cultural training expert and lifestyle writer. When he's not writing about food, he thinks about gadgets, trends and travel experiences. He enjoys communicating across cultures and borders in his weekday work avatar as a content and editorial consultant for a global major and one of India's only cross cultural trainers.

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