Rasam

Rasam --Long live allrasams-

A Tribute to southIndian rasam and heartfelt thanks to mothers and grandmothers who have trainedtheir children in making this rasam.

Who inventedSouth Indian rasam? Whoever it was, he deserves a Nobel Prize. What can this NobelPrize be for? Perhaps we can christen it as a Nobel Prize for the best providerof a sense of wellbeing.

This southIndian rasam is one of the best dishes of South India.We have a mind boggling variety of this rasam. India is known for its differentcommunities and castes. Here too this rasam is made in different ways and hasbeen given two names.The Brahmin Iyengar community call it “Sathamudhu”probably a combined word of saaru[juice ] and Amudham[nectar] or saaru andamudhu[food]. Whatever the etymology is or the origin is, this is an unbeatabledish of South India, next perhaps only to thestaple all time favorite idly and Dosa. All the others call it uniformly ‘rasam’and this is the most popular name that has stuck here.

We can start withthe simplest form of dhal rasam where a delicious thin soup is made out of dhalwater, a bit of tamarind and salt, rasam powder and a pinch of asafetida. A little teaspoon of mustard fried in ghee makes your day.

Next we have combinations made out of the same base where we can add tomato paste, tomato juice, cut tomatoes .Just chop fresh green coriander into very small bits and add this to the rasam when it foams on the top of the vessel. Keep a teaspoonful of ghee in another big spoon [this is called iluppaikarandi specially designed for this purpose.] and heat it up and add a spoonful of mustard seeds and kariveppilai to this. When the seeds have spluttered add it to the hot rasam and immediately close it with a lid. The delicious flavor of the rasam[normally a well made rasam boiling in the kitchen teases the nostrils and makes the mouthsof guests water even when they are sitting faraway inthe hall] Closing it with a lid immediately after the rasam is prepared , ensuresthat the flavor is retained even after a few hours..This is our famous tomato rasam and do not be surprised if North Indian friends as for a second helping of this famous ‘soup’.This rasam tastes ideal when it is prepared in a eeya sombu[a vessel made out of lead] and though there are contradictory views about the hazards of consuming rasam made in lead vessels, ninety year old healthy and fit grandfathers and grandmothers do swear by it.

I have just described two simple rasams, a dhal rasam and a tomato rasam... Then we have Poricha rasam, [cumin seeds] rasam, hotpepper rasam, garlic rasam, Mysore rasam and many more. A very high award should go to the inventor of pepper rasam[milagu rasam] which is literally and figuratively a hot favorite of manypeople especially when they are down with fever. So we can call it medicinal rasam. If only a few pearls of garlic are added to the rasam the antibiotic effect is more fulfilled than ever.

Just serve yourself a hot bowl of rice and add this rasam to it and eat hot. Cold and fever would vanish into thin air.