Parippu Rasam | Paruppu Rasam

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South Indian soup with lentils, tomato, tamarind juice and rasam powder

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Rasam is traditional South Indian preparation, served as a second course with hot rice. Rasam has a tangy and unique flavor due to the addition of tamarind, tomatoes, lemon and other seasonings like rasam powder. By varying the ingredients, different kinds of rasam can be prepared like Tomato Rasam, Lemon Rasam, Ginger Rasam, Jeera-Milagu Rasam, Garlic Rasam... etc. Tempering the ingredients in ghee boosts the flavor of the rasam.

Parippu Rasam or Dal Rasam is a simple and quick rasam prepared with cooked toor dal, tomatoes, rasam powder, tamarind. I always prefer a potato fry to go with any kind of rasam. Serve the rasam hot with rice and thoran/poriyal of your choice.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 2 medium, quartered
Pigeon peas/Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Rasam powder - 2 tsp
Tamarind - 1 small lemon size ball
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Jaggery - a small piece
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - to garnish

Tempering/Tadka:
Ghee - 2 tsp
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies - 1, halved
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Pressure cook the pigeon peas/toor dal with 1/2 cup water and a pinch of turmeric powder. Add 1 cup water to dal and mash well.

2. Soak the tamarind in 1 cup water and extract the pulp.

3. In a vessel, add tamarind water, tomato, rasam powder, red chilly powder, jaggery and salt. Mix well and bring to boil. Boil for 3-4 minutes.

4. Add the cooked dal to the rasam and simmer till the rasam becomes frothy. Remove from heat.

5. In a tadka pan, heat ghee. Add mustard seeds and when it splutters add jeera, red chillies, asafoetida, curry leaves and pour into the rasam. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Server hot with rice.