April 04, 2006

Pepper_Jeera Rasam with Eggplant-Potato Curry



Today I have a very simple menu for lunch that is packed with full of flavor, taste and aroma that is really soothing and unforgettable to the senses. Rasam is a South Indian dish, very common in Tamil Nadu. The spices that are present in the rasam have a very beneficial effect on your health. Rasam means Chaaru in Telugu and Saaru in Kannada. It is nothing but a soup flavored with tamarind, lentils and spices. There are different kinds of rasam made from different things like tomatoes, lemons, pineapples and spices..Well the list goes on but what I have today is a jumbo combination of spices,tomatoes,garlic,herbs...and wooh!!Lovely isnt't?

For the curry part, I have an unresistable eggplant and potato combination that is very much tempting .Well I love this combination more than plain eggplant.If you are more interested in knowing more about the good things of eggplant you could read the post on my Fennel Roasted Eggplants. Well here goes the recipes for both pepper jeera rasam and eggplant-potato curry.

Pepper Jeera Rasam

Ingredients

Toor Dhal - 1/4 cup
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
rasam powder - 2 tsp
garlic - 5 to 6 cloves
tomato - 1 finely diced
cilantro/coriander - few sprigs
curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Asafoetida -1/4 tsp
tamarind - lemon sized(soaked in water for couple of min)
salt - to taste
jaggery/sugar- 1 tsp
turmeric pdr - a pinch

Method

  1. Cook toor dhal and keep it aside.
  2. Coarsely grind black pepper and jeera keep it aside.
  3. Add 400 ml. of water to Toor dhal, churn fine and heat it in a vessel to boil. Add salt and a pinch of turmeric powder along with extracted juice from tamarind. Boil the above for six to seven minutes till raw smell of tamarind goes off.
  4. Add garlic(crushed) at this stage. Add curry leaves and tomato. Boil the rasam on a medium flame for six to seven minutes.
  5. The water quantity should have reduced considerably.
  6. Add jaggery or sugar and enough salt to taste now.
  7. Temper now with jeera and two broken chillies along with 1/4 tsp of asafoetida.
  8. Add cilantro and close the vessel immediately until you have to serve so that the flavor is retained.

Eggplant-Potato Curry



Ingredients

eggplants-2
potato - 1 large
onion - 1 big
garlic - 3 cloves
tomato - 1 diced
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
oil - 1 tblsp
Method

  1. Saute chopped onion in oil until brown. Meanwhile puree peeled garlic cloves with a few grains of salt and enough fresh lime juice to form a paste. Add garlic and tomato to onions; stir to combine; Add red chilli powder (or flakes), garam masala and salt.
  2. Add eggplant and potato cubes; stir to coat. Add 1/2 cup water; reduce heat. Let it cook, stirring occasionally, until done (about 20 minutes). Serve garnished with cilantro leaves.

TIP: The smaller the cubes, the faster they cook. Cut potatoes into 3/4-inch bites and eggplant into 1-inch bites so that they cook evenly.


I would love to contribute this dish to Anthony's Curry Mela.



9 comments:

Lakshmi said...

even we prepare this rasam, very good if one is having cold.......but anyhow i like the taste.

Vineela said...

Hi,
Potatoe and Eggplant mixed recipe is new to me.Iam gonna try it.Pepperrasam is very good for throat conjestion.
Vineela

KA said...

Great combo! love it!

Tanuja said...

good combination.Both are one of my fav!

BDSN said...

Lakshmi: I love rasam very much..my favorite thing of all times..very comforting food

Vineela:Yes indeed!Very good for colds,conjestion and very beneficial overall.

Thanks!!! KrishnaArjuna & Tanuja

KitchenMate:Wow!!thankyou!!

Shilpa: Please let me know how it turned out!

Priya said...

both look great, i love rasam with potato fry mmmm .. anytime ntg like it.

sailu said...

One of my fav rasams is pepper jeera rasam.I keep trying so many versions of rasams and everytime they come out different and when one particular experiment(recipe) comes out nice I forget what and how much quantity ingredients I put in..:)

BDSN said...

Hey KitchenMate
Thanks for tagging me..This is my very first meme and I just love the fact that ive been tagged....

Lera!Yes!!for sure..the aroma was great...

Priya:Thanks again for putting me down as one of your favourite blog..it has just made my day..

Santhi..ofcourse..rasam and potato fry is my ultimate combo..

sailu:One more recipe for you to try..wow u can call it a rasam experiment!!!

BDSN said...

I am just getting to know more about blog feed ..Once iam totally aware of what you are talking about i would love to give the details to u