Hot pepper drink ~ Mulligatawny

Rasam is known to cure a fever, aid in digestion and also has antioxidant  benefits. For a simple rasam you would require..

Ingredients:
Tomatoes - 2 ripe roughly chopped
Garlic - 3-4 pods crushed
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4tsp crushed
Mustard seeds - 1/4tsp crushed
Cloves - 2 crushed
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Fennel - 1/4 tsp crushed
Black Peppercorns - 10-12 crushed
Dry Red chilly -2-3 broken into pieces
Tamarind pulp - 1tsp
Asafoetida powder - 1/2tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp for the tempering
Curry leaves - a sprig
Shallots - 7-8 finely sliced
Coriander leaves - 2tbs
Water - 3 cups
White pepper powder to sprinkle
Salt to taste

In a saucepan, bring the water to boil add all the ingredients except the mustard, curry leaves (kept aside for tempering) and coriander leaves. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Blend all the ingredients and keep aside. Temper the mustard seeds shallots and curry leaves. Put the blended mixture back into the saucepan, pour the hot tempering and lastly add chopped coriander leaves and sprinkle some white pepper powder just before serving.

Tip: Once the rasam is blended the mixture could be strained and the residue could be discarded. I prefer not straining the liquid because the goodness lies in the residue. Also if you are using tamarind pulp, about 50gms of tamarind should do. It should be soaked in warm water for 10minutes and then added to the rest of the ingredients and brought to a simmer.