SHATHABHISHEKAM RASAM

INTRODUCTION

INGREDIENTS

Every journey in south India rewards me with something new. During my last visit , I happened to visit a small place which is famous for Nadi Joshiyam .

Vaidheeshwaran Koil is a small sleepy village which boasts of about 150 Nadi readers.We stayed at a hotel called Shathabhishekam which used to serve food only once during day time.

This is where I was served a beautiful thickish rasam. On exercising my tastebuds, I almost found out the recipe but this did not prevent me from asking the head cook as to how it was made.

Instead of the head cook, the recipe was discussed with me by the manager. He confirmed the ingredients as per what I had thought .But the method of preparation was totally different from what I had imagined. So here it is folks ! The Shathabhishekam Rasam. I am sure that you would come to like this as much as the Gounder Rasam. The manager confirmed my observation that the cook was preparing mostly Chettinadu cuisine especially curries and rasams and kozumbus.

Thoram Parappu 75 gms
Tomato 1 no.
Curry leaves 1 sprig
Tamarind 1 Lemon sized
Garlic 8 to 10 cloves
Ginger 1/4 " piece
Salt to taste

POWDER THE FOLLOWING
Black pepper 1 spoon + 1/4 spoon (raw)
Jeera seeds 1spoon + 1/4 spoon (raw)
Anise seeds (sombu) 3/4 spoon+ 1/4 spoon (raw)
Dhania seeds 2 pinches
Red Chillies 4 to 5 nos
Fenugreek 1 spoon
Curry leaves 1 sprig
Oil for frying and tempering. 4 spoons

TEMPERING & GARNISHING
Mustard seeds 1/2 spoon
Jeera 1/2 spoon
Red Chillies 1 or 2 nos.
Oil
Kothumalli 1/4 cup

METHOD OF PREPARATION

Pressure cook Thoram parappu and set aside. extract thick juice from Tamarind and set aside. Pluck Kothumalli leaves .

Dice Tomato, very roughly crush Ginger and Garlic with the back side of a flat serving spoon (arisi karandi) and set aside.

Take a little oil in a kadai and roast the ingredients for powdering as mentioned above. I would suggest you to fry red chillies and dhania first, followed by jeera and sombu, later light fry black pepper and curry leaves. Fry fenugreek separately to light brown.

Mix all the fried ingredients and powder them. Set the powder aside.

Now take 1/4 spoon of Jeera, Black pepper and sombu and make a coarse powder and set aside.

Now take some more oil in the kadai and add half spoon of Jeera and mustard seeds. Add a piece of Red chilli set the flame on medium. When mustard crackles, add diced tomato and a sprig of curry leaves. When tomato pieces start leaving water, add roasted powder and fry for no more than 45 seconds to 1 minute.

Now add extract of Tamarind and a cup of water and boil the mixture till Tamarind leaves the raw smell (five to six minutes at the most).

Now add churned Thoram Parappu and salt .Make the consistency of this rasam on a thickish side like a kozumbu. Now add roughly beaten Ginger and Garlic pieces and set to boil for further three or four minutes. Lastly add coarsely prepared powder of Black pepper and Jeera and sombu. Give a last boil for two minutes. Garnish with finely cut Kothumalli leaves .Cover the vessel and let the rasam mature for at least one hour .I would suggest you to prepare this rasam about two hours in advance.

I BET, YOU WOULD BE BOWLED OVER BY A REFRESHING TASTE OF THIS RASAM.

Enjoy !!!!!!!

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