Rasam / Milagu Thanni / Tamarind extract pepper water

Ingredients:

For Grinding:

1. Coriander Seeds / dhaniya - 2 tablespoons
2. Cumin seeds / Jeeragam - 1 tablespoon
3. Pepper corns / Milagu - 1 tablespoon
4. Garlic / Poondu - 3 to 5 pods
5. Tomato / Thakali - 1 medium
6. Green Chilli / Pachai Milagai - 1 small
7. Curry Leaves / Karuvepilai
8. Coriander Leaves / kothamalli illai
9. Asafoetida / Perungayam - A pinch

For Tempering:

1. Oil - 2 tablespoons
2. Mustard Seeds / Kadugu - 1/4 tablespoon
3. Cumin seeds / Jeeragam - 1/2 tablespoon
4. Red chilli / Kaindha millagai - 3
5. Curry Leaves - Few

For Rasam:

1. Tomato / Thakali - 1 small
2. Tamarind - lemon sized ball


Preparation Method:

1. Soak the tamarind in water and extract the pulp. Keep it aside.

2. Coarsely grind all the 9 ingredients given for grinding with a splash of water (1 to 2 tablespoons) and keep it aside.

2. Heat the pan and add oil in to it. Now add in the Mustard Seeds / Kadugu, Cumin seeds / Jeeragam, red chilli and curry leaves.

3. Add in the chopped tomato and turmeric powder. Fry them for 1 to 2 mins.

4. Once the tomatoes are smashed, add in the coarsely grounded paste and fry it for another 2 mins.

5. Now add the tamarind pulp to the pan and mix well.

6. Add required salt to it and mix well. Add water to adjust if the gravy is too sour.

7. Keep it in low flame untill the bubbles are formed at the top layer of rasam.

8. Switch it off and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

This is the no.1 dish in south india at rainy season. It tastes heavenly when it is served hot with smashed rice with a hint of ghee on it. It has the power to reduce the soar throat and soothes. This goes well with sidedishes like  Potato Fry, Ladies finger fry, Any kootu varieties, Papads, Paruppu Thovaiyal etc.

About Rasam from Wikipedia:

Rasam means "juice". It can refer to any juice, but in South Indian households rasam commonly refers to soup prepared with tamarind or tomato juice with added spices and garnish. Saaru in Kannada or chaaru in Telugu means "essence" and, by extension, "juice" or "soup".

Rasam is prepared mainly with tamarind or tomato as the base along with cumin, black pepper and dry chilli powder as flavoring ingredients. All of these ingredients are abundant in South India.

Mulligatawny (from Tamil மிளகுத்தண்ணி (miḷagu-ttaṇṇi), meaning 'pepper-water') is based on rasam. Mulligatawny is often served with rice, like rasam.