Pudina Rasam

If there is one dish, that is a must in my lunch plate everyday, it is "Rasam". I have blogged almost close to 14 different varieties. You can check them out under the "Rasam" category.

So today's post is "Pudina Rasam", which is "Mint Leaves Rasam".

First little information about the rasam. Any South Indian meal is incomplete without rasam. It is packed with ingredients that improves digestion. When you have cold or when u feel sick, a cup of hot rasam (whether drunk separately or mixed with hot rice and consumed) will always soothe you.

Next few information about the mint leaves. From helping in digestion to keeping your breath fresh for quite a long time, mint is full of wonders. Be it for seasoning in salads or making it as a dip or adding it to cup of hot tea or mojitos or grinding it finely to cook pudina chutney or thogayal to our very own pudina rice, mint can bring that extra flavour to to anything that we cook and makes us drool every time 😅. They are very easy to grow at our kitchen backyard.

Do you know that Mint leaves:

👉 improve our immune system

👉 are good for digestion.

👉 treats common cold

👉 are good for Oral care and skin care

👉 beats stress and depression

These are just a few benefits of including mint leaves in our diet.

This tangy rasam with the immune boosting mint leaves does great wonders to our health. So why not incorporate it in our diet 😎.

Ingredients:

Tomato 1

Tur Dal 1/2 cup

Mint leaves handful

Cumin Seeds 1 tsp

Tamarind lemon sized

Asafoetida pinch

Coriander leaves

Curry leaves

Salt to taste

To dry roast & grind:

Coriander Seeds 2 tsp

Pepper 1 tsp

Red Chilli 1 or 2

To temper:

Ghee 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Soak the tamarind in hot water for 15 minutes. Extract the tamarind pulp and keep it aside.

2. Pressure cook tur dal for 4 whistles. Once done, mash it and keep it aside.

3. Dry roast the ingredients given under "to dry roast & grind". Do not over brown it. Switch it off and add a handful of mint leaves and a tsp of cumin seeds to the same hot pan with dry roasted ingredients. Allow it to cool. Once cool, grind them into a fine paste adding little water. Keep it aside.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes, tamarind extract, turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt to a vessel and bring them to a boil.

5. Boil on a medium heat until the smell of tamarind goes away.

6. Add the ground paste (step 3) and cooked dal (step 2) to the boiling rasam.

7. Simmer for 3 minutes. Once they turn frothy, switch off the flame.

8. Heat a tbsp of ghee. To it add mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Once they splutter, add it to the rasam.

9. Garnish with coriander, curry leaves & few mint leaves.