Mar 12, 2009

Tomato Rasam-1


This is rather my bizarre way of making Tomato Rasam. Bizarre coz I never saw or heard anyone making Rasam like this. You may laugh at this, but this is what I used to make soon after I got married. I tasted some excellent rasam's at friends places, but the long procedures somehow kept me from following them. Very soon I learnt about canned tomatoes, in almost every other form. How thrilled was I when I made my first Rasam after a lot of thinking and whether to or not to with the Canned Tomato Paste, lol. We both instantly liked it and ofcourse after making some changes to it, this became my standard way of making rasam for a very long time. Since we both used to love Rasam a lot, I used to make it so often, with pepper, ginger, with or without rasam powder, with celery in it, and what not. We used to love to drink this rasam every other day. Some of my friends politely would tell me that's not how Rasam is made.
Slowly, I gave up canned tomato for the fresh ones and that rasam recipe of mine was forgotten. Few days back, I suddenly remembered it and thought, why not make it and enjoy it, my recipe of bygone days. Now, if I thought of making it again, it should be tasting good rite. Even though made from the canned stuff, it tastes really good to just gulp it down sip by sip. Try it..

Ingredients

Tomato paste, canned - 1 1/2 tbsp
Tamarind - a small marble sized ball, soaked in water and juice extracted from that.
Garlic cloves - 3
Black pepper corns - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp or more
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Cilantro, chopped - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - 3-4
Salt - to taste
Oil

Method

- With a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic, pepper corns and cumin seeds together.
- Heat oil in a pan, add this crushed mixture, saute for a few seconds, add the curry leaves.
- Add the tomato paste with 4-5 cups of water, add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt, tamarind juice, and cilantro. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes till the mixture boils completely and you don't feel any rawness of the paste.
- Serve hot.

Note :

- Making it thicker or thinner by adding more or less water.
- Adjust and vary the garlic and pepper according to your taste levels. You can give an extra seasoning of garlic after the rasam is ready.

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22 Comments:

Finla said...

I guess we all werr bad in cooking when we got married, i love rasom especially with plain rice.

Unknown said...

Wow.. Nice colour.. looks yummy & delicious..

Vanamala Hebbar said...

wow nice color...this is the best rasam for everyday.

FH said...

I use canned Tomato sauce all the time for everything including Rasam but never used little cans of tomato paste though. Must try now, Rasam looks so delicious. I am so hungry, it's lunch time here!!:)

Meera said...

Hey, loved that rasam. Believe me it's not bizzare. Do you know someone who used to make rasam from V8 tomato juice? Well that crazy person is writing this comment!!:-D

KonkaniBlogger said...

Thank you all.

Asha, ahh yes, the canned tomato sauce I have tried too. Good to knw you use too :D.

Meera, V8 tomato juice?? Am sure it would be an interesting one. Lol, am not the only one then.

Suparna said...

Hi Maya,
I too posted a simple rasam in my last post :)
Ur rasam looks yummy...lovely pic

Ashwini said...

Love to drink hot rasam in this cold..As long as it tastes good, whether canned or fresh should not matter..Could have a bowl of that..slurp..

Varsha Vipins said...

Rasam is my fav..with hot rice it tastes divine..This looks good Maya..not that bizarre n all.I guess rasam can be made in a number of ways like this...this is simple n easy as well..:)

Manju said...

theres some rasam cooking on my stove top and thats when i see this..for the first time when i drool over a blog, i actly have it ready to eat as well! :):)

Cham said...

When I was in east coast,tomatoes are pricey in winter, we use the can one but not paste! The rasam got the red color , very pretty!

A_and_N said...

Such a long time since I made this!

Anonymous said...

Hi Maya,
I make this rasam since a long time,of course learnt from mammamma.This is what is called "Poondu (garlic) rasam" in Tamilnadu (which is famous for rasams).The slight difference is that for seasoning I add jeera seeds, hing and karbev which gives a fine flavour to the rasam and it is good for digestion.
Ashamayi

Red Chillies said...

Maya, that was funny. You almost killed me when I read tomato paste for making rasam. But it is very creative and good solution.

Purnima said...

Maya..ditto~ kon title phorai kornu rasam karta~ :D I just hv small modification..I use tomato paste, 1 tetra pack of 120 ml diluted wt 1 1/2 C's water ! Badda bhaari laayaka taste nave! Hey canned is same or it has pcs..hanga have canned tom. palayni. :) Tks for sharing!

Purva Desai said...

Rasam looks really red, sizzling and hot...

Raks said...

My favorite rasam! looks great...I love to have hot with rice;)

vidhas said...

rasam looks perfect. I love rasam, my kids favourite too.

Uma said...

Really a creative way to make rasam Maya! It got great color and it should have tasted great too!

Archy said...

My fav tomato rasam.. nice color of the rasam.. !!

Divya Kudua said...

I agree with you Maya..I remember friends telling me to make rasam when I felt lazy..but who would go through all those steps when lazy..;-).I always used rasam powder and ground tomatoes for a long long time to make rasam.Now,I follow another easier method which my amma makes..!!Yours look delicious and I would like to have it in a tall glass,sipping it with a drizzle of pepper..yummeee!!!

Meenal Mehta said...

hi Maya ,

first time on your blog..delicious looking rasam , have to try it

-Meenal @ Meenal's kitchen