Friday, March 26, 2010

Comfort Food Series: Fruity, Light and Flavorful South Indian Style Soup(Rasam)

I have been using fruits quite a bit in my savory foods lately, in chutneys and side-dishes and so on... and I actually find it refreshing(not to mention the fact that the fruits dont go to waste on my kitchen counter). Here is a light and flavorful South Indian style Soup or Rasam with the main ingredient being pears( I have tried it with pineapples, limes as well as apples).

The spice powder / spice mix I have used here is different from the usual Rasam powder that I use, which is available in most grocery stores or in the Asian Indian aisle of the supermarket. Here I used a simple, spice mix...a mixture of coriander seeds, some black pepper and  a touch of cumin seeds so that the fruity rasam(soup) would not be overpowering but still retain the flavor of the fruit while continuing to be tangy like traditional rasam is meant to be.

Here is the recipe and it would be a great accompaniment to hot rice as well as a warm appetiser/beverage by itself.

This fruity rasam soup goes to Nithu's Think Beyond the Usual - Fruits event as well as this month's CWS - Coriander Seeds  guest-hosted by RV and started by Priya of Priya's Easy n Tasty Recipes.

Recipe for Pear Rasam(South Indian style fruity soup):
Serves: 4
Prep/cook time: 20 - 25 mins
Ingredients:
Pears - 1 cut into chunks(any crisp variety more on the sweet side like Bartlett or Anjou or any others)
Tomato - 1 cut into chunks(any firm variety like vine tomatoes)
Green chilli pepper - 1 slit thinly
Tamarind juice - 2 cups
Jaggery - 1/2tsp(optional)
For spice powder: roast and powder coriander seeds(dhania) - 2 tbsp, black pepper - 2 tsp, cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
For seasoning: cumin seeds - 1 tsp, salt, turmeric, curry leaves - a few sprigs, cilantro


Method:
In a pan, add the tamarind juice and to it, add the cut pear and tomato, green chilli pepper, salt, turmeric , jaggery and spice mix.


Let the rasam soup boil well for atleast 10 mins, till it becomes bubbly.

In another frying pan, add a little cooking oil(or a tbsp of ghee) and when it heats up, add the cumin seeds and when they crackle, add the other seasonings and then add all these seasonings to the soup.

Serve hot or at room temperature with rice or as a warm appetiser/beverage.

25 comments:

  1. wow this rasam loks so pretty and colour is amazing.Looks delicious and healthy too.Perfect on a cold winters day.

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  2. haiii. nice rasam ..looks delicious.. pls visit my blog when you have time.. following you

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  3. Hi. Nice variation to the regular rasam.

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  4. innovative pear rasam!... tempting..

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  5. Mmmmmmm... Yum Yum Yummm.... Looks awesome and very tempting... Nice clicks too

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  6. Hey Meena, Rasam sounds too good..very innovative too..never thought, we could make rasam with pear!Thanks for sending it to my event..

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  7. Very intresting..adding pear i s new to me..
    Looks fantastic!

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  8. Nice and fruity rasam. Rasam is my comfort food too.

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  9. lovely rasam with fruits..love the rasam color and rasam looks yummy...

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  10. Very much innovative.Rasam is not my cup of tea,but yours is tempting n so appealing .Got to try it soon.Thanks for the recipe dear.

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  11. Wow, a beautiful version of our good old rasam, very tasty looking. Thanks for thinking differently.

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  12. Superb and colourful rasam..looks delicious and tasty!!

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  13. Shared an Award with you do Collect it...

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  14. Thanks all, please do try out and let me know what you think...

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  15. Ooh Indian style soup is always great! Love it.

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  16. very unique one,sounds delicious..

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  17. WOW!gr888 version!healthy n delicious rasam with lovely color!luv it
    U have a wonderful space here!
    Tnx a lot 4 stopping by 'simply delicious' dear

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  18. That rasam looks very innovative, pretty n inviting dear!

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  19. South Indian food is very appetizing and can be eaten at any hour of the daytime. It is neither difficult to digest nor really fatty. It contains something to eat for all kinds of people, for those who wish for really spicy foods or for those who cannot even taste spicy food. For more details about South Indian Food visit http://www.vaango.in/

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