Parruppu Rasam | South Indian Rasam | Lentil Rasam Recipe

Paruppu Rasam / Dal Rasam is sure comfort food to me. There is a story that I heard long back from a chef on the origin of the rasam. He said that one day a great cook was making dal and rasam in the kitchen and by mistake he added cooked dal to the rasam, later he was greatly praised by everyone who tried it. I have also heard another version of the story that the cook did not have much tamarind pulp hence he added the dal water to the rasam and hence its origin. Which ever story you want to believe I just want to tell you that this is really one awesome tangy curry, very different in its taste compared to the usual basic rasam recipe. I simply love to have this with any vegetable stir fry and appalam. Every Tamilian home has their version of rasam, I learnt to make this from my dear Amma, and it sure makes constant appearances at home. To make matters simple I make Paruppu Rasam along with Sambar :-) 

DAL RASAM RECIPE

Recipe Source - Amma

Cook & Prep time - 20 mins

Serves - 4 generously

Serving suggestions - White rice, veg/non veg side & appalam

Ingredients

Ripe Tomatoes - 2

Tamarind Pulp - 1 lime size ball diluted in 1 cup warm water

Cooked Toor Dal - 1/2 cup (you can reduce the quantity depending on how thick or thin you want the rasam)

Corriander powder - 1 tsp

Chili powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves chopped

To Temper

Ghee/ Oil - 3 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Peppercons - 1 tsp

Dry red chilli - 2

Curry Leaves - 1 spring with stem

To Pound

Jeera - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Dry red chilli - 2

Garlic - 4 pearls

Curry leaves - few

Method

• Boil the tomatoes in 2 cups of water for about 5 to 8 minutes, the skin will split at this stage. Remove from stove and after it is cooled, remove the skin and mash to form a puree.
• To this add all the spice powders, pound masala, salt, curry leaves and coriander stems. Mix well, now add the cooked dal with water. Check for spice and salt. You can also add store bought rasam powder instead of the other spice powders.
• Now add the tamarind water discarding the pulps and bring to a single boil. As the rasam foams and comes up, remove from stove and sprinkle some water on the rasam.
• Do the tampering in the order given and pour it into the rasam. Mix well, garnish with coriander leaves and cover with lid.

Cooks Wisdom

- Tampering with ghee gives a special flavor to the rasam. For vegan version skip using ghee.

- Adding the coriander stems & curry leaf stem enhances the flavor to the rasam.

- Tempering at the end brings out great flavor

- Never over boil the rasam after adding the tamarind water, this will give a bitter taste to the rasam