Drumstick leaves Rasam

Last week when we were at the grocery store, Usha (Owner of the Masala shop) insisted that we buy Nuggekayi (Drumstick) yelegalu (Leaves) as they were good to be consumed during this time. Meaning while I'm pregnant. I was at first taken aback as I'd never heard of people using these leaves for cooking. My mum or ajji never did mention about them. AmAr insisted that we buy & try something new. These leaves are said to be power houses of proteins & vitamins. The leaves are significant source of beta-carotene, Vitamin C, proteins, iron & potassium. After googling found two recipes which were quite easy. I gave it a try. I combined recipes posted by LG & Sailu.

This recipe is for Deesha's South Indies - A Series on South Indian Cuisine.

Ingredients: -

2 cups Drumstick leaves (As LG says, tightly packed. Green leafy veggies reduce in quantity once they are cooked.)

1/2 cup Toordal

1 medium sized tomato, chopped

1-2 green chilies

1 tsp jeera

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp Rasam powder (home made or bought)

1/4 tsp concentrated tamarind paste

a pinch of asafoetida

few finely chopped coriander leaves

Salt

Oil

Method: -

1. Pressure cook the leaves & toordal (along with tomato) separately with little salt & turmeric.

2. In a pan prepare the seasoning by heating 2 tsps of oil. Add asafoetida, mustard seeds & jeera. when the seeds splutter, add the finely chopped green chilies.

3. Add the cooked dal to the pan & stir well.

4. When the dal starts to boil, pour the cooked leaves.

5. Add rasam powder, salt & tamarind paste. Stir continuously for a minute or two.

6. Allow it to boil well.

7. Garnish with coriander leaves & serve hot with rice.

For the soup recipe, don't add cooked dal & rasam powder. Soup doesn't have a consistency like the Rasam.

Orange Rasam

I'd bought a small bag of Clementines during week to make Orange Rasam. I was actually looking for Blutorangen (Blood Oranges), which I was not able to find. Looks like they are sold only during Summer. They are bascially used for juice extraction & color.

Ingredients: -

1 cup toor dal

4 medium sized Oranges (You can zest the orange before extracting the juice & store the zest)

1 medium sized tomato, chopped

1 tsp jeera

1 tsp turmeric

a pinch of asafoetida

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp red chili powder

2 tsp Rasam powder

1 tsp tamarind paste

Curry leaves for seasoning

Coriander leaves for garnishing

Salt

Oil

Water

Method: -

1. Pressure cook toor dal with tomato pieces & little salt.

2. Extract the juice from the Oranges.

3. In a big heavy bottomed vessel, prepare the seasoning by adding 1-2 tsps of oil. Flame was on medium high.

4. Add asafoetida, jeera & mustard seeds.

5. When the mustard seeds splatter, add curry leaves.

6. Mash the cooked dal & tomato & transfer it to the vessel where the seasoning was prepared.

7. Mix well & add enough water to make the consistency of the Rasam little watery.

8. Allow it to boil.

9. Add tamarind paste, tumeric, orange juice & salt.

10. Stir well, add coriander leaves & remove from flame after you get the aroma of the Rasam. This should take around 5-10 minutes.

11. You can consume the Rasam directly or eat it with rice.

Apple Dal

Huh, sorry what was that again? Yes that was my reaction when I first read this recipe on Deesha & Sujatha's blog. Thank you girls for sharing this innovative recipe. It was AmAr's home coming today so wanted to surprise him.

This is the surprise he got!

Ingredients: -

1 big apple, cut into cubes (Deesha & Sujatha have used a green apple. I was lazy enough not to go to the market. I picked a few apples from the tree in our garden.)
1.5 Cups Dal (I used 1 cup Toor Dal & 1/2 a cup red slipt dal)
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
2-3 green chillies
1 medium tomato, finely chopped

1 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
1 tbsp sambar powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds
2 pinches of asafoetida
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp Ghee
Salt

For Garnishing corriander & curry leaves.

Method: -

1. Pressure cook the dal with turmeric & little salt.

2. Peel the apple, remove the seeds & cut into cubes.

3. Soak apple cubes in lemon juice for about 15 minutes.

4. In a kadai, prepare the seasoning by adding asafoetida, mustard seeds, cumin seeds & curry leaves to hot ghee.

5. Add green chilies & onion pieces. Saute for few minutes till the onion begins to sweat.

6. Add ginger garlic paste, tomato pieces, all the masala ingredients & cover the kadai.

7. After the tomato pieces become tender, remove from flame & cool.

8. In a blender, grind the gravy to a smooth paste.

9. I roasted the apple pieces slightly before cooking them in the dal.

10. Heat the kadai with little ghee & pour the gravy into it.

11. Add the cooked dal along with the roasted apple pieces. Add water if required.

12. Cook till the apple becomes tender.

13. Garnish with coriander leaves & serve hot with rice or roti.

Pumpkin soup

I ate Pumpkin soup for the first time in Germany at a friend's place. It tasted awesome. Since then I wanted to try it at home. During the months of September, October & November Pumpkin is a common vegetable in the Markts around Germany in every city. I pick up one small one to give it a try.

Ingredients: -

1 small pumpkin (around 2 cups), skin removed & chopped into pieces

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 big onion, finely chopped

1 small tomato, finely chopped

1 big green chili

1 tsp jeera

1 tsp pepper powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp red chili powder

Salt

Few Rosemary, Thyme & Basil leaves

Bread croutons

Method: -

1. Heat butter in a pressure pan & add jeera, chopped chilies & onion.
2. Saute onion pieces for a minute or so & then add the ginger garlic paste & mix well.
3. After the onion pieces begin to sweat, add garam masala, chili powder & cumin powder. Mix well.
4. Add the pumpkin & tomato pieces along with enough salt.
5. Pressure cook with enough water till one whistle.
6. Mash the pieces or use a blender.
7. Reheat & add pepper powder, herbal leaves & bread croutons. Serve hot.
Garlic bread & pumpkin soup is my choice.

I logged on to blogger today morning to post a new recipe & Ramya made my day. She has awarded me the "Good Job" award. Thanks Ramya.

Kohlrabi Soup

Kohlrabi (Navil Koos in Kannada & Nool Kol in Tamil) is a low, stout cultivar of the cabbage. It has been selected for its swollen, nearly spherical, Sputnik-like shape. The name comes from the German Kohl (cabbage) plus Rübe (turnip), because the swollen stem resembles the latter.


I'd had Kohlrabi soup in one of our friend's place when we were there for dinner. The soup had cream & milk in it. I din't know how my friend had prepared it. Never got to ask her. I was searching for the recipe online. But unfortunately most of them I found, had some kind of meat in the recipe. So after reading many recipes, I came up with my own method with some Indian masala :) to spice it up a bit.


I'm sending this post to WYF:Kitchen Gadget event hosted by Easycrafts.




Ingredients: -
1 big Kohlrabi with the leaves (if possible. Leaves taste yum)
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1 medium sized tomato, finely chopped
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsps Olive oil
Salt
Thymin or Rosemary leaves


Method: -
1. Pressure cook the Kohlrabi pieces with the leaves along with little salt.
2. Saute the onion pieces in Olive oil along with jeera & ginger-garlic paste.
3. Add garam masala, chili powder & cumin powder. Mix well.
4. Add the tomato pieces & cook till the tomato pieces become tender.
5. Add the pressure cooked Kohlrabi pieces & mash.
6. In a blender add the mashed mixture to get a smooth paste.
7. Reheat the soup & add black pepper powder along with the herbs before serving.

Tadka Dal

Tadka Dal is my husband's favorite. Tadka Dal can be made by using 4 or more types of lentils; toor dal, moong dal, masoor dal, chana dal, horse gram dal, etc., This dal can be served with rice or chapatis. This was the first time ever I was making dal using Garlic & onions.

Ingredients:-
1/2 Cup Toor Dal
1/2 Cup Moong Dal
1 big onion, chopped
1 big tomato, chopped
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp methi-mustard powder
1 tsp haldi
1 tsp jeera
a few curry leaves
2-3 red chilies
2 tbsp ghee
Coriander, finely chopped for garnishing
Salt

Method:-
1. Soak all dals for an hour in Luke warm water.
2. After an hour if the dal has become a little soft, then pressure cook the same with the same water with little salt & haldi.
3. In a heavy bottomed deep pan, melt a tablespoon of ghee & add curry leaves, onions & ginger-garlic paste.
4. Saute the onions till they start to sweat.
5. Add tomato pieces, red chili powder, haldi & methi-mustard powder.
6. Cook till the ghee leaves the vessel.
7. Now add the cooked dal & mix well.
8. Cook on medium flame.
9. Add salt as per taste.
10. Prepare the tempering by melting a tablespoon of ghee in a pan.
11. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds & red chilies into the melted ghee.
12. Once the seeds splutter, pour this tempering over the dal.
13. Garnish the dal with chopped coriander leaves and serve it hot with rice or chapatis.

Tomato rasam

Rasam is a south Indian soup which is prepared mainly with the juices of tamarind or tomato with pepper & other spices. Lentils are added frequently & other vegetables optionally. It is eaten mixed with rice, or drunk by itself. In a formal meal, it follows the sambar course & is followed by curd rice. It differs from sambar in that it usually relies on tomatoes for its sourness rather than tamarind & it is usually much thinner. Rasam contains many spices which are considered beneficial to health.


I've made the rasam or Saaru as it's called in Karnataka using rasam powder or saarina pudi.


Ingredients: -
1 medium sized tomato
3/4th cup togari bele or toor dal
1 tsp turmeric
1 strand curry leaves
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander
1 tbsp rasam powder
1 tsp tamarind paste
Salt
Ghee for seasoning
1 tsp musturd
a pinch asafoetida


Method:-
1. Pressure cook toor dal & tomatoes by adding salt & turmeric with enough water so that the dal is completely covered.
2. In a pan add rasam powder & tamarind paste along with the pressure cooked dal. Add salt if required again.
3. Cook on medium flame. The rasam should begin to boil.
4. When the rasam is boiling prepare the seasoning.
5. In a small pan, add ghee & melt it. To this add asafoetida & mustard seeds.
6. When seeds splutter, add it to the boiling rasam.
7. Remove from fire & garnish with coriander & curry leaves.



Prepare the rasam powder fresh by dry roasting jeera, dhania & red chilies in a teaspoon of oil. Jaggery, lime juice, garlic or coconut can also be added along with rasam powder.

Menasina saaru / Pepper rasam

Unfortunately both of us are not keeping well; flu & cold. So time to try my mum's age old recipe of Menasina saaru. I don't like it much & whenever someone makes it, I almost feel I'm sick. But had no other choice & had to prepare it. My mum prepares it with togari bele (toor dal) most of the time. So did I.

Ingredients: -

1 tsp Udina bele (Black gram)

2 tsp Pepper balls

1 tsp jeera/cumin

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp dhania

2 tsp ghee

2 tbsp jaggary

1 cup milk

1/2 cup desiccated or dry coconut

1 tsp concentrated tamarind paste

Coriander & curry leaves

1 cup togari bele (toor dal)

Salt

Method: -

1. Pressure cook togari bele with little salt & turmeric.

2. Heat the ghee in a pan & add mustard & wait till it pops.

3. Add Udhina bele, jeera, pepper balls, dhania & turmeric.

4. Roast till the bele turns a shade of light brown.

5. As we'd cold we could actually get any aroma. But after clearing the nose, we some how managed to get a very strong aroma of the masala being roasted. The pepper balls began to pop, which indicated, that the mixture was ready to be ground.

6. Add coconut & dry grind. No water to be used.
7. In the pan add the cooked toor dal, tamarind & jaggary. Bring it to boil & check if jaggary has completely dissolved.

8. Add the ground powder, jaggery, salt & curry leaves. Allow it to boil for around 5 minutes.
9. Add milk & let it boil. The moment the Rasam begins to boil, remove from fire.

10. To add ogarne (tadka), in hot ghee let mustard seeds splutter & add it to the Rasam. Garnish with coriander leaves.