Saaru or Rasam

                                                                 Saaru and Saaru anna


 Madhva Brahmin Saaru.....

Saaru has been one of my favourite comfort food. As I view, it is the elixir of life. Nothing to beat Aaloo curry and saaru with hot rice and ghee on any day. Be it Summer, Winter or Rains.

I remember my maternal grandfather fondly called "Batanna" ( becausse he played Tennis and had a Tennis Bat) who visited us at Delhi sometime in the early 1960s, ( that shows how ancient I am !) would say that one drop of saaru or "amritam" as he would call it  was dropped by Brahma on his way to heaven - on top of our house.

 Incidentally, our house was on the third floor and we had a  terrace that was open to horizon view on all sides.

He believed this story as he felt people in this house were never hungry and ate our lunch when all the work was done. And Saaru was one of the regular dishes made everyday.

The Saaru podi or Rasam powder as we call it now was made at home. Each ingredient carefully chosen, broiled and pounded in an iron hand pound.

Now of course, we have MTR to our rescue who make the best of rasam powder. I too made "saarin podi" in the traditional way but  with my old Sumeet Mixie for many years before I shifted to the trusted brand, MTR.

There are many methods of making saaru or rasam. Or for that matter in each house hold it is differently made and of course taste different. Most often the rasam made in restaurants have garlic in them, There are many types of rasam that I make. More types later......

Now for the way I make the regular saaru........

Saaru or Rasam

Ingredients:

Toovar dal                    : 5 table spoons of raw dal cooked in pressure cooker until soft and mushy
Tamarind                      : A medium lemon sized ball soaked in water and juice extracted  
Tomatoes                      : 2 to 3, cut into small pieces
Rasam powder              : 2 to 3 tea spoons
Salt                                : To taste
Curry leaves                  : Two sprigs
Jaggery or gud or bella  : a small piece ( optional)
Dhania patta or cilantro : chopped ( 2 to 3 teaspoons full)
Ghee                               : 1 teaspoon ( for tampering)
Hing                                : a pinch
Mustard seeds.                :half a teaspoon

( to make enough for a family of two to last two days)

Keep a heavy bottomed vessel on heat.
Add the ghee. When hot, add mustard seeds, hing, curry leaves and chopped tomatoes.
Add a cup of water.
Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add the tamarind extract, salt and jaggery, and rasam powder.
Let it boil for at least 6 to 7 minutes on low heat.
Add the cooked dal. Adjust the consistency by adding a little water, if you need it that way.
Simmer for another 5 minutes. Keep stirring once in a while.
Garnish with cut dhania patta.

Voila! the rasam is ready.

Some people prefer to add tampering in the end. but I do it this way.

• I have an anecdote to record here. When  we lived in Ranchi, Dad came home for lunch at exactly 1.10 pm. It was kind of understood that I  finish my cooking just then so we could have hot food. So my saaru making time would be around 1 O clock. While the saaru would be boiling, The aroma would be so strong that Chinnu would come to the kitchen from wherever she was and extend her cute three year old hands for a treat of " bella". Most often it would be other little kids from around the building too, notable from among them was Vasanthi. Remember her?

•  Rasam for many is decidedly without the jaggery. But kannada brahmins ( !!!!) always prefer to add jaggery whereas Tamil brahmins do not. Brahmins do not make it spicy. But the non brahmin variety is spicy, tangy and garlicky.

• I prefer to eat the gooey saaru anna from a bowl in its liquidish avtaar. I remeber having mixed saaru anna like this many times years ago when you both wee kids.

 

Simple lauki with Milk Curry

My experiments in kitchen I think have in general turned out to be palatable. Here I share some simple food that I cook .... have been cooking ..... so that the experiments live on......... I will try and post pictures wherever possible. Will also try and add pictures of the process whenever I can. I will take care not to blog about anything that I don't cook myself.

Happy Cooking and eating.............

Simple Lauki Milk Curry

Most people do not like lauki ( Bottle Gourd as it is called in English)as it has no taste of its own. In fact in South Indian brahmin households it is considered  a taboo vegetable. But I like the buttery texture as it blends with the masalas and takes on a different avtaar each time you cook it differently. . Bottle gourd comes in different shapes. It is always best to choose ones with tender skin. The seeds need to be buttery. Over ripe gourds don't turn out to be edible. The best way to check if it is tender is to gently dig your finger nail into the skin. If it breaks easily then it is tender and can be bought.

More lauki recipes to come

Ingredients:

Lauki cut into small pieces               :  2 large cups
Milk                                               :   one cup milk
Onion                                             :   one
Tomato                                           :  2 large
Green chillies                                   :  Two or three ( depending on its sharpness or scoville units :))
Milk powder                                   : 2 teaspoons (optional) 
Salt to taste, a pinch of garam masala, a pinch of haldi, a pinch of sugar, half tea spoon jeera
Cilantro or Dhania patta for garnishing
A little Oil ( a few teaspoons) for frying the ground onions


Method:

Microwave bottle gourd/ lauki pieces with very little water until done
Microwave cut tomatoes with just a little water, let it cool and puree in a blender
Peel and grind the onion and green chillies in a blender.
Heat the oil. splutter half a teaspoon of jeera/ cumin. Add  the ground onion paste.
Fry a little.( until the raw smell of onion is gone)
Add the tomato puree, salt, sugar, garam masala, haldi, sugar and milk.
Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the lauki. Boil on low heat for another 5 minutes.
Add the Milk and garnish with dhania patta.

• Note:Goes well with chapatis and rice. If you are eating rice then you can make it a little watery.

• The sugar is there only to cut the tangy taste of  tomatoes.

• Delhites call lauki "Ghia"........ so I grew up knowing this vegetable as Ghia.