Vepamboo (Dry Neem Flowers) Rasam

Today's post is an immunity boosting rasam made out of Vepamboo (dry neem flowers).

This is my mom's signature recipe, my dad's favourite and mine too 😅. Let's know some facts before we head on to the recipe.

Neem tree is an evergreen tree found everywhere in India. This tree is called "village pharmacy" or "village dispensary" as every part of the tree starting from bark to its flowers are used for various medicinal purposes. It has been extensively used in Ayurveda too.

There was a big Neem tree in my native place. My grandma used to give us the fruit of the Neem tree, as it is used to kill worms in our tummy. It tastes sour, sweet and bitter. We disliked 😓 it and used to gobble it at one stretch.

In olden days, the bark of the Neem trees were used as toothbrushes. The Neem leaves are grinded and used as hair packs even today, as they help in treating dandruffs.

Quite a long post, isn't it? Coming to this post, the dried neem flowers are used to make this rasam. It offers a lot of health benefits. To name a few, they:

👉 are used to treat intestinal worms (anti-parasitic)

👉 improves digestive health

👉 improves eyesight

👉 help to purify blood

👉 increases metabolism

👉 increases appetite

Let's get on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Tomato 1

Tamarind Lemon sized

Dal water 1 cup

Turmeric Powder a pinch

Asafoetida a pinch

Salt to taste

Curry leaves few

To temper:

Vepamboo (dry neem flowers) 2 to 3 tsp

Red Chilli 4 or 5

Mustard Seeds 1 tsp

Sesame Oil

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/b9da25_d57075408e8542b3a234d3591af220ea/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Method:

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

2. Pressure cook the dal. Once cooked, take the water in which the dal is cooked. Keep it aside. You can use the cooked dal for sambar or making any other dish.

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

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

5. Add dal water. Simmer for 5 minutes. Switch off the flame.

6. Heat sesame oil in a pan. To it add vepamboo (dry neem leaves) and fry it until it turns dark brown. Add mustard seeds & red chillies. Once they splutter, add the entire tadka to the rasam.

7. Garnish with curry leaves.