Recipe - Tomato Saaru(Rasam)

Description: There are many ways of preparing tomato saaru. I'll get onto all the ways eventually. This is the way one of my friends prepared the rasam when we had visited her. We loved it a lot! I got this recipe from her and she has graciously allowed me to publish it :). There is no way you can go wrong with this :).

Preparation Time : 5 minutes.

Cooking Time : 10 minutes.

Ingredients:
1.Kari Menasina pudi (Black Pepper Powder): 2-3 teaspoons or as per taste.
2.Jeerige Pudi (Cumin seeds Powder): 1-2 teaspoons.
3.Sasive (Mustard): 1 teaspoon
4.BelluLli (Garlic): about 3-4 florets or as per taste (chopped). This is optional.
5.Uppu (Salt): As per your taste.
6. kottaMbari soppu (Coriander Leaves): a handful
7. Enne/Thuppa (Oil/Ghee): 2 tablespoons.
8. neeru (Water): 4-5 cups
9. Karibevu (Curry Leaves): a little
10. huLi (Tamarind paste): a little
11. Tomato: 3
12. ingu: (asafetida powder): a little. This is optional
13. oNa meNasina kaayi (Red Chilies): 2-3

How to Prepare:
1. Pour the water in a vessel.
2. Add salt and pepper powder.
3. Add lot of fresh coriander leaves, tamarind paste, garlic and coriander powder.
4. Add the tomatoes to it.
5. Squeeze all these in the water either using a ladle or your hand. (Of course you have to wash your hand thoroughly before that!)

6. Take some oil in another pan.
7. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle.
8. Add the curry leaves and red chilies and fry for a while.
9. Add a pinch asafetida powder.

10. Add all the contents of the pan into the vessel (with squeezed items in it).
11. Boil everything for about 10 – 15 minutes.
12. It is done.
13. You can drink it like a soup or have it mixed with hot rice

Servings: 2 - 3 Servings.

PS1: The names of ingredients are how they are called in Kannada, my mother tongue. Their English equivalents are given in brackets.

PS2: The recipes that I am posting are those that I have tried personally and have turned out well. They are recipes that I am collecting from my mother, mother-in-law, aunts, uncles, friends, cousins and my husband.

PS3: I think I have covered whatever needs to be covered. Please let me know if you would like to see any changes in the way the recipes are presented.

PS4: Enjoy your cooking. I definitely am enjoying it immensely!