Lemon-Rasam-with-Karpooravalli

#LemonRasamWithKarpooravalli : 
#Karpooravalli [ #Omavalli ] is a semi-succulent perennial herbal plant. Karpooravalli and mint belong to the same family Lamiaceae and its scientific name is Plectranthus amboinicus.
It is known by various names such as Indian borage, country borage, Cuban Oregano, French Thyme, Indian Mint, Mexican mint, Spanish Thyme, soup mint. The leaves are pungent in taste and Ajwain [ ஓமம் ] like flavor and odour. When #Omavalli leaves are crushed they gives out a smell just like omam [ ajwain ] smell. It is edible and can be consumed raw.

The leaves are used in the treatment of cough and cold. I regularly prepare chutney from the leaves and use chopped leaves in salads and to garnish soups. But what I feel is that it is advisable to consume fresh leaves to get relief from cold, cough and throat infection. I also found out that its pungent omam taste remains intact when it is taken fresh.

I brought the plant cuttings from my native place and planted in my garden. Now it has grown with many branches having healthy leaves after rains. Now regular advisory from doctors is that to eat immunity boosting food in our daily diet to ward off corona pandemic.
I sometimes used to garnish rasam with crushed Karpooravalli leaves along with Coriander and mint leaves. But this time to reap its full health benefit, I used them in the preparation of rasam masala mix.

Usually the taste of my rasam happens to be sour. Adjust the quantity of lemon juice according to your taste. In the same way increase or decrease the number of chilly also.

Preparation time                : 10 - 12 min
Quantity                             : 2 Cup approx.
Serves                                : 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients :
1 medium size	Thakkali [ Tomato ]
1 Tsp heaped	Madras Rasam Powder
2 medium size	Lemon
1 1/2 Tsp	Salt [ Adjust ]
4 - 6 sprigs	Kothamalli fresh [ Coriander fresh ]
3 - 4	Karpooravalli leaf [ Indian Borage ]
8 - 10	Karuveppilai [ Curry leaf ]
6 - 8	Pudina fresh [ Mint fresh ]
Ingredients for Tempering
1 Tsp	Kadugu [ Mustard seed ]
1/2 Tsp	Saunf [ Fennel seed]
1/2 tsp	Jeera [ Cumin seed ]
1 Tsp	Gingelly oil [ Sesame/til oil ]
4 - 6	Karuveppilai [ Curry leaf ]
Ingredients for Rasam mix
4 - 5	Karpooravalli leaf [ Indian Borage ]
15 - 20	Karuveppilai [ Curry leaf ]
6 - 8	Pudina dried [ Dried Mint leaf ] - optional
10 - 15	Milagu [ Black pepper ]
1/2 Tsp	Kothamalli vidhai [ Coriander seeds ]
1/2 Tsp	Jeera [ Cumin seeds]
1/2 Tsp	Saunf [ Fennel seed]
2 Pinches	Omam [ Ajwain ]
4 - 5 pods	Poondu [ Garlic ]
1/2 in. piece	Inji [ Ginger ]
1/2 in. piece	Manjal kizhangu [ Turmeric tuber ]
1 - 2	Pachai milagai [ Green chilly ]
1 - 2	Sigappu milagai [ Red chilly ]
2	Krambu [ Clove ] - optional
1	Yelakkai [ Cardamom ] - optional

Method :

Take all things given under Ingredients for Rasam mix in a mixie jar.

Grind coarsely without adding water.

Wash tomato and cut it into eight equal pieces.

Put tomato pieces, salt, Madras Rasam Powder in a vessel.

Transfer the prepared rasam mix into the vessel.

Wash mixie jar with half a cup of water and pour into the vessel.

Add 1 1/2 cup of water into the vessel.

Heat on a stove over medium flame.

Allow to boil until rasam starts foaming up.

Turn off the stove.

Squeeze in lemon Juice.

Adjust lemon juice according to your taste.

Tear some curry leaves and put over hot rasam.

Cut the stem portion from the coriander sprigs and add over the hot rasam.

Keep the vessel closed.

Heat a kadai with oil on a stove over medium flame.

Crackle mustard seeds once oil starts fuming.

Then add jeera and fennel and turn off the stove.

Now add curry leaves and stir for few seconds.

Pour the tempering over the hot rasam.

Just before starting lunch garnish rasam with chopped coriander leaves, chopped pudina leaves

and chopped karpooravalli [ omavalli ] leaves.

Take hot white rice in a plate.
Take out one or two pieces of tomato from the rasam and put over the rice.

Slightly mash tomato and rice together by hand.
Now add plenty of rasam and mix well.
Enjoy along with any spicy curry of your choice.

Rasam mixed rice also goes well with  Vegetable Stir fry [ thuvatal ]

or onion fryums.






Other recipes you might like to try

Ammaan Pacharisi Thuvaiyal [ Asthma plant chutney ]

Kokum Rasam

Kollu Rasam

Lemon rasam with Vallarai [ centella ]

maangai herbal chutny

Variety of dishes for Lunch

Recipe Index

Lemon-Rasam-with-Vallarai

#LemonRasamwithVallarai : A good Thamizhan lunch should have spicy and tangy rasam with an apt accompaniment. The accompaniment that goes well with rasam would be Vegetable stir fry [ Poriyal ] or a spicy curry or vathal or papad. Me and my daughter, we both are great lovers of rasam. Our lunch would not be complete without tangy aromatic rasam mixed rice and a vegetable stir fry [ poriyal ]. Some people like to relish rasam rice with kara curry and some used to enjoy rasam mixed rice only with papad or vathal. I had started off my blog with a rasam recipe as my daughter enjoys rasam rice for lunch. Subsequently, I have shared a few more varieties of rasam recipes in this blog.

The main purpose of this blog was to serve as a reference guide to my daughter who went abroad for higher studies. Then I didn't have a decent camera to click pictures and moreover didn't know the technology to add images to the blog post. So I have shared only the recipe without images in some of my earlier posts. Later I got a camera and uploaded posts with nice pictures.
Initially I thought I would stop writing recipes in this blog after sharing all the dishes that I usually prepare at home.  I realized only after I started writing that I had to write nearly 300 to 400 blog posts to share my regular dishes. Other than that I had to share some special festival dishes, mouth watering sweets and spicy savories. Those special dishes were around 100 in numbers. It took me around three to four years to post recipes of all those dishes.

Moreover we were always on the move once in every three or four years and setting up home at different places in different states of India. We came across some new vegetables and leafy greens native to that particular region. I learned about millet when we lived in Chhattisgarh, the land of tribes and millet. I tried many dishes out of them. So... It is a never ending process! It goes on and on and still I have been sharing some new recipes one by one regularly.

Now again I am going to share a special rasam recipe after a long long time in which I have included #Vallarai [ Centella ], turmeric tuber along with other regular ingredients. Another reason to write this recipe now is that I thought it would be beneficial to everyone to try a immunity boosting food which is absolutely necessary during this corona pandemic situation.

When we were in Mysuru I used to buy turmeric tubers from the market and always used to save them in the fridge. Since then I have started adding a little bit of smashed/grated fresh turmeric tuber in dishes wherever possible like in Pongal, sambar, rasam, lentil, etc.,... I found it enhanced the taste and aroma of the dish. I preserve some by drying them up in the Sun. To preserve turmeric tubers have to be cooked in a pressure cooker for a whistle on high flame and then have to be dried them completely in the Sun.

Now we are living at Chittaranjan located in West Bengal. Vallarai keerai is available in plenty in our local market here in Chittaranjan. I regularly buy them to prepare chutney. Sometimes I used to add 3 - 4 vallarai keerai along with coriander leaves to garnish rasam. Here I have used 10 - 15 Vallarai keerai [ Centella ]. I have prepared a mix from vallarai keerai, turmeric tuber, ginger, garlic, curry leaves, dried mint leaves, black pepper, cumin, coriander seeds and chilly to make this special rasam. Vallarai keerai is slightly bitter in taste. So adjust according to your taste.
#Vallarai [ வல்லாரை ] or #VallaraiKeerai [ வல்லாரைக்கீரை ] is known as Gotu kola or #Pennywort in English. Its scientific name is Centella Asiatica. It helps to increase brain function and memory. Research has shown it contains substance which increases collagen production and circulation that improves healing of wounds and burns. It is good to eat 2 - 3 leaves to relieve arthritis pain.

Last year during the monsoon season many turmeric plants started coming up that might have been planted by previous occupant of my house. When I saw plants I was so happy that I don't have to go back to my earlier method of using turmeric powder and I can continue to add fresh turmeric tubers in cooking. We carefully maintained them and harvested quite a large quantity of turmeric tubers. I distributed those tubers to my parents, brothers and relatives when I visited them before the Pongal festival this year.
Usually the taste of my rasam happens to be sour. Adjust the quantity of lemon juice according to your taste. In the same way increase or decrease the number of chilly also.

Preparation time                : 10 - 12 min
Quantity                             : 2 Cup approx.
Serves                                : 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients :
1 medium size	Thakkali [ Tomato ]
1 Tsp heaped	Madras Rasam Powder
2 medium size	Lemon
1 1/2 Tsp	Salt [ Adjust ]
4 - 6 sprigs	Kothamalli fresh [ Coriander fresh ]
8 - 10	Karuveppilai [ Curry leaf ]
6 - 8	Pudina fresh [ Mint fresh ]
Ingredients for Tempering
1 Tsp	Kadugu [ Mustard seed ]
1/2 Tsp	Saunf [ Fennel seed]
1/2 tsp	Jeera [ Cumin seed ]
1 Tsp	Gingelly oil [ Sesame/til oil ]
4 - 6	Karuveppilai [ Curry leaf ]
Ingredients for Rasam mix
10 - 15	Vallarai keerai [ Centella leaf ]
15 - 20	Karuveppilai [ Curry leaf ]
6 - 8	Pudina dried [ Dried Mint leaf ]
10 - 15	Milagu [ Black pepper ]
1/2 Tsp	Kothamalli vidhai [ Coriander seeds ]
1/2 Tsp	Jeera [ Cumin seeds]
1/2 Tsp	Saunf [ Fennel seed]
4 - 5 pods	Poondu [ Garlic ]
1/2 in. piece	Inji [ Ginger ]
1/2 in. piece	Manjal kizhangu [ Turmeric tuber ]
1 - 2	Pachai milagai [ Green chilly ]
1 - 2	Sigappu milagai [ Red chilly ]
2	Krambu [ Clove ] - optional
1	Yelakkai [ Cardamom ] - optional

Method :

Take all things given under Ingredients for Rasam mix in a mixie jar.

Grind coarsely without adding water.


Wash tomato and cut it into eight equal pieces.

Put tomato pieces, salt, Madras Rasam Powder in a vessel.

Transfer the prepared rasam mix into the vessel.

Wash mixie jar with half a cup of water and pour into the vessel.

Add 1 1/2 cup of water into the vessel.

Heat on a stove over medium flame.

Allow to boil until rasam starts foaming up.

Turn off the stove.




Squeeze in lemon Juice.

Adjust lemon juice according to your taste.

Tear some curry leaves and put over hot rasam.

Cut the stem portion from the coriander sprigs and add over the hot rasam.

Keep the vessel closed.

Heat a kadai with oil on a stove over medium flame.

Crackle mustard seeds once oil starts fuming.

Then add jeera and fennel and turn off the stove.

Now add curry leaves and stir for few seconds.

Pour the tempering over the hot rasam.

Finally garnish rasam with chopped coriander leaves and some pudina leaves.

Tasty and tangy rasam is ready to serve.

Take hot white rice in a plate.
Take out one or two pieces of tomato from the rasam and put over the rice.

Slightly mash tomato and rice together by hand.
Now add plenty of rasam and mix well.
Enjoy along with any spicy curry of your choice.

Rasam mixed rice also goes well with  Vegetable Stir fry [ thuvatal ]

or onion fryums.






Other recipes you might like to try

Ammaan Pacharisi Thuvaiyal [ Asthma plant chutney ]

Kokum Rasam

Kollu Rasam

Rasam 1

maangai herbal chutny

Variety of dishes for Lunch

Recipe Index

Rasam-Recipes

#Rasam is one of the main courses of Tamilian lunch. #Rasam is a watery concentrate of important spices boiled in lentil water with tomato and tamarind juice is added finally to get the desired taste.
Then curry leaves and coriander leaves are added to garnish and also to infuse nice aroma. The spices used in the preparation of rasam are pepper, cumin, coriander and chilly. Cumin and coriander seeds helps in digestion of food. Pepper prevents us from catching cough, cold and fever. Pepper also cools our body temperature.
Rasam has to be added liberally over the rice and mixed well. The rasam rice is relished with any curry of your choice.
You might be thinking it is one of the easiest recipes after seeing the ingredients and the method of preparation. But preparing a tasty spicy aromatic rasam requires lots of practice. All the tastes, sour, spicy, salty, has to be added in right quantity at the right time and  also the way of boiling the rasam needs great care. If you have learned the art of making proper tasty rasam then you are eligible to be crowned as Tamilian kitchen queen.

• Links to recipe has been tabulated here.
• Hover cursor over the picture to know the name of the rasam
• Click once to take you to the recipe

rasam	kokum rasam	kollu rasam
rasam 1	lemon rasam	Madras rasam
Orange rasam	pulichchaaru	tomato rasam
vilampazham ( woodapple ) rasam	Lemon rasam with vallarai [ Centella/Gotukola/Pennywort ]

For other Lunch recipes

Lunch Index

More recipes at

Recipe Index

Kokum Rasam

#KokumRasam : #Kokum is a fruit of a tree which is widely used in Maharashtrian and konkan cuisines for its sour taste. There are many varieties of kokum and many of them are found in Western ghats of India. The outer layer of the fruit is dried in the Sun to get kokum which is used for culinary purposes. It is deep red in color and when dried becomes black.

Rasam is one of the main dishes prepared for lunch in South India especially in Tamil Nadu, India.
It is a concoction of few condiments with tamarind or lemon. Rasam is mixed with rice and relished with a curry/poriyal/thuvatal. Now I used this sour tasted kokum to prepare rasam in place of lemon or tamarind.
Now to preparation. Quantity prepared : 2 cups [ approx. ]

Ingredients :
Madras Rasam Powder    : 2 Tsp full
kokum                            : 2 or 3
Salt                                 : 2 Tsp [ adjust ] 
Turmeric Powder           : A Pinch
Red Chilli Powder         : 1/4 Tsp (If Required )
Green Chilli                   : 1
Tomato                         : 1
garlic cloves                   : 2

To Temper :
1/2 Tsp                         Mustard
1/4 Tsp                          Cumin
1/8 Tsp                          Shajeera
1 Tsp                             Oil

Asafoetida, Curry Leaves & Coriander Leaves for Garnishing.                  
This is enough for 2 to 3 persons.
Approximately 1 3/4 cups of rasam can be prepared with the given ingredients.

Method :
Soak kokum in lukewarm water.

Add 2 Tsp full of Madras Rasam Powder.
Add turmeric powder, Salt, Cut Tomatoes, and Chilli powder ( if you want it spicy ).
Add smashed garlic cloves.

Now add 1 3/4 cup of water into the vessel with ingredients.
Turn ON the stove & keep the vessel on fire.

Let it boil on a medium flame.
When boiling rasam started foaming at the top turn OFF the stove & add Asafoetida.
Add soaked kokum along with soaked water.

Add few curry leaves.

Heat a kadai over a slow flame with oil.
First crackle mustard and then add cumin and shajeera.
Finally add curry leaves and turn off the stove.
Pour the tempering over prepared rasam.
keep it closed with a lid.

Just before serving top it with coriander leaves.

Take hot white rice in a plate and pour two to three ladle full of rasam along with one or two tomato pieces.

Now mix well with hand and enjoy with any vegetable curry.


Enjoy a cup of rasam with a pappad or Onion vathal ( fryums ).




Other rasam recipes you might like to try

rasam

Vilampazham Rasam

kollu rasam

lemon rasam

madras rasam powder

Dishes for Lunch

Recipe Index

Kollu Rasam - Horse Gram Rasam

#Horsegram #Rasam : Horsegram is known as kollu in Tamil. The scientific name is Microtyloma uniflorum.
Horse gram gives protein, nearly one fourth of its weight. It is also rich in minerals like iron, calcium, potassium and molybdenum.
This also cures kidney or gall bladder stones if detected at a very early stage and surgical intervention can be avoided.
Kollu as it is called in Tamil is an excellent remedy for common cold. Kollu rasam is recommended to ward off cold which is prepared along with pepper which again controls cold.
Here let me present the method of preparing kollu rasam.

Ingredients :
3 Tbsp                                  Horse gram [ kollu ]
1 Tsp                                    Black Pepper
1/2 Tsp                                Cumin
1/4 Tsp                                 Coriander seeds
4 cloves                                Garlic
1/4 inch                                 Ginger piece
2 or 3                                   Red chilly
12                                        Curry leaves
1                                          Tomato, cut into 8 equal pieces
2 pinches                              Turmeric powder
2 or 3 Tsp                            Lemon juice
1 1/2 Tsp                              Salt
A small amount of coriander leaves to garnish.

To Temper :
1/2 Tsp                              Mustard seeds
6                                        Curry leaves

Method :
Wash and soak overnight.
Next day morning drain water into a vessel in which rasam is to be made.
Pressure cook soaked kollu with 1/2 cup of water and 1/4 Tsp of salt.
Cook for a whistle and then at SIM for 10 minutes.

Open the cooker only after steam has completely subsided.
Now also drain the cooked water into the same vessel containing soaked water.

Take cooked kollu, red chilly, pepper, cumin, coriander seeds, curry leaves, garlic and ginger in a mixie jar.
Grind coarsely and transfer into the vessel.
Add tomato, turmeric powder and salt.

Keep over a medium flame and allow to boil until starts foaming.

Turn off and then add lemon juice.
Temper mustard seeds and curry leaves.
Pour over rasam.
Garnish with coriander leaves just before serving.

Spicy kollu rasam is ready, Enjoy it as a soup.

Or mix with hot white rice and have with any vegetable curry of your choice.







Other rasam recipes you might like to try

rasam

kokum rasam

Vilampazham Rasam

lemon rasam

madras rasam powder

Dishes for Lunch

Recipe Index