Pepper & Cumin / Kurumullaku Jerakam Rasam

Now that the temperatures are dropping, eating and drinking hot things are the most enjoyable. With the body burning fat just trying to keep warm in this weather, gives an excuse to eat up. Like they say, you don't have stomach problems in the winter because the body typically doesn't fall sick in the cold. I can't wait for the temperatures to fall a little more, to get out & eat all that street food. For now rasam and soups are on the menu at home, and today this is a recipe for another rasam - a pepper and cumin rasam or a kurumullaku jeerakam rasam like it is called in Malayalam. This rasam is typically made the minute someone at home has a cold. The pepper in this rasam is good to open all the blocked sinus and nose and cumin is known to help our digestive system.

Ingredients

Tuwar dal - 1/4 cup

Tomato - 3

Tamarind - 1 small ball

Turmeric pwd - 1 tsp

Red chilli pwd - 2 tbsp

Coriander sprigs

Salt as per taste

Sugar - 1/4 tsp

for the powder

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Peppercorn - 15 to 18

for the seasoning

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 5 to 6

Oil - 1 tbsp

Wash the dal and add a cup of water and pressure cook till it turns mush. Soak the tamarind in a little water for some time. Then with your fingers make it mush and extract the pulp and keep aside.  

 

Wash the tomatoes and chop into big pieces. Heat a saucepan and pour in 2 cups of water, add the tomatoes, a little salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Let this come to a boil and add the cooked dal in. Lower the heat and cover the saucepan. Add in the tamarind pulp with some more water and coriander sprigs and cook till the tomatoes are done.

 

Dry roast the cumin seeds and the peppercorns on low heat and once they emit their aroma, take off heat. Powder this finely and add into the rasam. Add the sugar to the rasam and check the taste and add salt or more tamarind pulp if necessary. Take off the heat.

 

Put a small pan on heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot add the mustard seeds and when it splutters add the curry leaves. Take off the heat and pour into the rasam and cover the rasam immediately. Mix when ready to serve.

 

Notes: The quantity of pepper is high in this rasam to help soothe a sore throat or cold, it can be lowered to about 10 peppercorns for daily use.
Don't discard the coriander stalks, save them to be used in rasam. Add as much of coriander as you like, it only tastes better.

The rasam has to be very watery like a clear soup.

Garlicky Rasam

There is a definite nip in the air and with it comes the season of cold and sniffles. What better than wrapping hands around a cup / glass of some super hot and spicy soups and drinks. For the past couple of days I am sniffling through the day and the fumes from the firecrackers definitely did not help. So, for now I am drinking hot water through the day and from today Rasam is also added on the menu. I made a super peppery garlicky tomato rasam today to clear my blocked nasal passages. The use of onion and garlic is an age old method to combat infections either ingested or left around to sniff. In fact sick rooms would have strategically placed onions and garlic and it was believed these bulbs would rot after sucking out the infection in the room. In India, many believe in eating an onion salad in summer to cool the body and to help fight infections if any.

 

In South India, Rasam is considered a must have when suffering from a cold. It can either be mixed with rice to make a soupy meal or gulp down some as a starter or at the end of a meal. This Rasam can be made as a soup as well just tone down the pepper.

Ingredients

Tomato - 2, large

Tuwar Dal - 1/4 cup

Tamarind - 1 lemon sized ball

Garlic - 10 to 12

Pepper - 10 to 15

Green chilli - 2

Turmeric pwd - 1 tsp

Red Chilli pwd - 1 tsp

Salt as per taste

Curry leaves - 4 to 5

Coriander leaves - a few sprigs

for tempering

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Garlic - 2, crushed

Onion - 1/2, chopped

Chop the tomatoes, slit the green chillies. Wash the garlic and crush with skin, crush the pepper and keep aside. Soak the tamarind in a 1/2 cup water.

Soak the dal for 30 to 60 minutes then wash and drain it. Add some fresh water and pressure cook it till soft.

Heat a saucepan and add 2 cups of water, tomatoes, garlic, salt, turmeric and red chilli water. Cover the pan and let the tomatoes cook. When tomatoes are half cooked add dal and pepper and cover and cook. Extract the pulp from the tamarind and add it to the rasam. Once cooked add the coriander leaves, curry leaves and the green chillies and take off the heat.

 

For the tempering, heat a small pan and add the oil. When the oil is hot add the mustard seeds, once it splutters add the chopped onion and crushed garlic. Take off the heat with the onion and garlic turns golden. Pour it onto the Rasam and keep covered till ready to serve.

 

Pour some hot Rasam into a soup cup, wrap your fingers around the cup and sip away noisily.

State Bhavan Canteen Review - Tamil Nadu Bhawan

We first visited Tamil Nadu Bhawan canteen on a friend's recommendation especially to try their masala dosa and Biryani. After that, we went there a few times and enjoyed our visits there, till our most recent one a couple of days earlier.

 

We went to Tamil Nadu Bhawan for the first time with my parents who were visiting us. My parents had liked the food there. We had the South Indian thali, chicken biryani, mutton biryani, vada sambhar, chicken 65, mutton fry and not to miss their Coffee! We loved each of these items and in fact got some biryani packed to take home as well. Later, we revisited the place a couple of times with friends and each time our experience was really good. We introduced it to some of our friends and they too appreciated the food there.

 

A couple of days ago, we went to Tamil Nadu Bhawan again for lunch and the firsts things we ate there was a masala dosa with piping hot rasam. The rasam was garlicky and spicy and just apt for the rainy weather outside and the masala dosa and chutney was also awesome. I did not mention the sambhar because it wasn't good, seemed more like dal with veges in it. We then ordered Chicken 65, Parotta kurma curry, Sambhar Rice and Mutton Fry. The Chicken 65 was good but none of the others really made the mark. The Sambhar Rice came with a papadam and although it was not the best tasting sambhar, it could have been decent if it was hot. The Parotta was good but the kurma curry was actually vegetable stew that is usually served with appams. The mutton was not sauteed and fried like it is usually done and it was cooked to the point that the meat had fallen apart.

Overall, our meal did not meet our expectaion.

On asking the waiter he said that the cook had changed about 10 days ago and the new one was only getting into the groove.

 

So, if you plan on visiting the Tamil Nadu Bhawan it may be a good idea to wait for a few days till the cook gets his act together!

 

Some pictures I took on our earlier visit.

 Masala Dosa served with Sambhar and Chutney

 Mutton Biryani served with korma and onion raita

Vada Sambhar served with chutney



State Bhavan Canteen Review - Malayali food experience at Kerala House

We were craving to eat Malayali food for sometime and hence decided to check out the canteen at Kerala House at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. The place primarily caters to the staff and guests staying there and attracts a few office goers from the area around. So go at a decent hour else food may run out because they cook limited quantities and do not expect too many people to come. We reached there at about 2.30pm and the man at the counter asked us to wait for a few minutes. On peeping inside we saw there were tables free and checked again with the man at the counter. He informed us that they had run out of rice and fresh coupons would be issued only once they were sure there was enough food!

The vegetarian thali is the standard available at the Kerala House canteen and then one can buy fish curry or fry or chicken curry or fry separately.

Once seated, a waiter brought a bowl of sambhar, a jug of rasam, a jug of sambhaaram (spiced buttermilk), a jug of water and glasses to the table. Slowly the waiter came with plates served with a cabbage thoren (sabzi), achaar (pickle), onion slices and payar mezhukaperati (long beans sabzi). The rice was then served. We had to ask for the papadam and they gave us broken bits and said they ran out of papadams. They also had fish curry and fry and chicken curry and fry, which one can order with the thali for additional money. We ordered the ailaa / bangda (mackerel) fish fry to go with the thali. They served the Kerala red rice and I bit into 2 stones when eating, guess they did not clean the rice in a hurry to cook it! The waiters don't come around so often with second servings so we had to call them over twice.

The verdict - the food was average - keeping aside the fact that I bit into stones and the fish was not salted and spiced enough. The rasam with garlic and the sambharam spiced with ginger was really good. They seemed to have made the payar mezhukuperati fresh after running out of cabbage thoren.

Don't expect the Andhra Bhavan's efficient standards here. It is a small room in the parking space partitioned off with wood. The waiters don't wear a uniform and there are about 7 to 8 tables in all here. There is a lot of old furniture from the guest rooms and a couple of old discarded cars (an Ambassador and a Standard NE) lying about in the parking space and this is right at the entrance!

Overall the Kerala House food was just ok, to be visited only if in the area.

 

P.S. Thoren in Malayalam is any vegetable cooked with a tadka of mustard seeds, green chilly and curry leaves with grated coconut added in the end. Mezhukuperati is when there is no grated coconut instead coconut oil is sprinkled in the end to the vegetable.