CHENNAI: Betel leaf, lotus stem, plantain leaf shoot — these are but three ingredients that Usha Prabhakaran uses to make rasam. The humble dish gets a drastic makeover in Usha Prabhakaran’s upcoming book Rasam Digest. She has compiled 1,000 varieties of rasam recipes under three categories — everyday, unusual and exotic. The recipes that are strung together range from spicy, sweet and sour to light-as-air and broth-like varieties, made using vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices. “Rasam is an emotion. It’s categorised under top-echelon traditional functional foods as it can ward off many diseases. Only a few varieties are routinely prepared at homes.
I’ve penned multiple combinations moving beyond the basic rasam made using tamarind, pepper and lentils. Rasam is versatile and can double up as a starter, soup, appetiser, digestive or even a meal,” explains Prabhakaran as she slurps a spoonful of freshly-prepared green chilli rasam — neither too spicy nor too tangy — at her residence in Porur. Her previous book Usha’s Pickle Digest (1998), featuring 1,000 pickle recipes, was well-received among patrons, earning her the moniker ‘pickle queen’. To keep up with readers’ expectations, Usha has tried and tested every recipe in her book to ensure you savour the comforting bowl of goodness at its best.
Soup for the soul
Any south-Indian meal is incomplete without a bowl of piping-hot rasam. This humble delicacy derives its origin from the Tamil word irasam and the Sanskrit word rasa, both meaning essence or extract or juice. It is easy on the pocket, frugal to prepare, low on calories, light and easy on the system, and tailor-made to suit various health concerns. The recipes in the book belong to communities across India such as Brahmins, Gounders, Mudaliyar, Pillais, Nattukotta Chettiars from Tamil Nadu; Reddys from Andhra Pradesh; Wodeyars from Mysuru, Tulus from Mangaluru; and Palakkad from Kerala.
Warm memories
“My mother used to prepare instant rasam like tomato and buttermilk when we had unexpected guests. She would concoct pepper rasam to get rid of coughs, colds, fever which we used to call the kashaya rasam. Tempting garlic rasam would be served on cold rainy evenings, in davara tumblers, enough to send most down memory lane,” she reminisces. Prabhakaran collected recipes from sources, known and unknown, which included relatives, friends, hotel chefs, caterers, home cooks and clubs.
She makes rasam using home-ground spices and seasonal produce. Sharing trivia about rasam that she stumbled upon during her research, she says, “Traditional functional foods are diets that may have special disease prevention attributes and consumed daily. Rasam is a classic example of that with all its ingredients having medicinal benefits. It’s a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals, rich in antioxidants, and excellent recovery food. Besides, it facilitates digestion and prevents constipation.”
Sip, slurp and savour
Prabhakaran uses traditional vessels and believes that everything from the ladle to the bowl accentuates the taste. She has touched upon the importance of eeya chombu, which used to be the most-prized utensil in homes, in rasam preparation. “A secret ingredient is the cookware itself. There is a scientific explanation for eeya chombu — a small, heavy vessel, made of tin. The metal has a higher electro-voltaic potential. With the acidic food, it generates an electric voltage which tickles your taste buds. Eeya chombu made with velli eeyam (made only of tin) is the safer variety and manufactured in Kumbakonam. It takes eight to 10 hours and costs a few thousand today,” shares Prabhakaran, who prepares rasam in soapstone and eeya chombu.
She is confident that this book will generate enthusiasm in the minds of foodies to experiment with more varieties. She has also shed light on pointers to keep in mind while preparing rasam. “A hundred rasam powder recipes with several accompaniments are the star attractions in the book. It contains innumerable charts on substitutes for ingredients, multi-language food chart, health benefits chart, sprout chart and adulterants chart. I’m planning on e-books as well. This is not the usual rasam book you’d pick up at a store. It will be out in a couple of months,” she says. The beauty of the dish is that no one rasam is beyond correction. If it becomes sour or salty, the addition of little chilli with a dash of jaggery will reduce the tartness. Anything and everything can make rasam — it’s undeniably dependable, versatile and comfort food for the soul.
Green chilli rasam
Ingredients
Green chilli : 4
Coriander seeds: 3 tsp
Cumin: half tsp
Coarse salt: a pinch to be ground with water to a fine paste
Toor dal: 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Water: 200 ml
Tomato: 1
Curry leaves: a few sprigs
Asafoetida powder: 1 pinch
Tamarind extract
(Take a medium lemon-sized ball of tamarind, obtain thin extract of one-and-a-half cups (300 ml water)
Preparation
Add a dash of oil, pressure cook toor dal with turmeric until one whistle and simmer for 10 minutes with one cup water (200 ml)
Add tomato mixture into the cooked dal
When the tomato is cooked, stir in tamarind extract and coarse salt
Continue cooking until the raw smell of tamarind disappears
Add green chillies mixture into boiling rasam, heat for a few minutes and take off the stove
Season rasam with mustard seeds fried in ghee
Garnish with chopped green coriander
Mixed dry fruits rasam
Ingredients
Mixed dry fruits comprising dried dates, raisins, dried apricot, dried peaches: 1/2 cup
Tamarind extract: goose-berry sized ball of tamarind in 200 ml of water
Grated jaggery: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Salt: to taste
Moong dal: 2 cups (soaked in
400 ml water)
Green chillies: 2
Peppercorns: 1/2 tsp
Cumin: 1/4 tsp
(Dry roast pepper and cumin, and hand pound)
Seasoning
Ghee: 1 tsp, Mustard seeds: 1 tsp Crushed curry leaves
Preparations
Boil spiced tamarind extract for about 10 minutes or until the raw smell disappears
Add in mixed dried fruits, moong dal water, finely chopped green chillies and continue heating the mixture
Follow with rasam powder, pounded pepper-cumin mix and simmer rasam mixture until fine aroma emanates
Take rasam off the stove when it begins to foam up
Meanwhile, heat ghee, add mustard, crushed curry leaves and fry till done
Pour seasoning into the hot rasam take it off stir well, cover and set aside