Lemongrass and Ginger Rasam
This lemongrass and ginger rasam is a light, refreshing soup that is full of flavour. I make most of my rasams in the pressure cooker. A rasam must not be boiled beyond a point as it may lose its flavour. I love adding a little rice to it making it into a wholesome meal on a rainy day!
Ingredients
Grind to a coarse paste: 1-inch lemongrass or 2 tsp lemongrass paste, 1-inch ginger grated, 1 tbsp coriander stems chopped, 1 tsp pepper to grind, 1 tsp cumin, 1 green chilli.
The ground paste: 1 tsp rasam powder or sambar powder, 1-inch lemongrass sliced into small pieces, ½ cup cooked dal toor, moong or masoor dal, ½ tsp hing, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 2 cups water, Salt to taste
For thalipu / tadka: ½ tsp ghee, ½ tsp mustard, ½ tsp cumin seeds.
For garnish: 2 tsp lemon juice, Mint/lemon leaves to garnish.
Instructions
Make a coarse paste with the ingredients mentioned to grind with about ¼ cup of water.
Add all the ingredients listed for rasam along with the paste to a vessel. Turn on the heat and place it in a 2L cooker to which ½ cup water is added. Close and cook for one whistle. Alternatively, add the ingredients to a vessel, place it directly on the flame and let it come to a boil. Then, simmer for 5 minutes.
Strain to remove any lemongrass pieces. Biting into one may be too fibrous!
To the ghee add mustard, let it splutter and then the cumin seeds. Add this to the rasam. Squeeze some lemon juice and mint leaves to garnish.
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Aditi Limaye