Tomato Rasam

Tomato Rasam in Marathi

Time: 40 to 50 minutes
Serves: 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients
3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1/4 cup toor dal
3 cups plain water
For tempering:- 1 tbsp oil, 2-3 pinches mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp hing, 1/8 tsp turmeric powder, 2 dried red chilies (broken), 1/2 tsp urad dal, 15 to 20 methi seeds, 2 cloves of garlic (crushed), 1 spring of curry leaves.
10 to 12 black pepper, crushed
1 green chilies, chopped
1.5 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp tamarind
Salt to taste

Method:
1) Pressure cook toor dal by adding 2 cups water. Once toor dal is cooked, drain and save the water. Squeeze out water from dal too.
2) Add 1/2 cup hot water in tamarind. Let the tamarind soak in for 10 minutes. Then squeeze the tamarind and get the juice.
3) Mix 2 cups plain water and 2 cups dal water into a saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Add chopped tomatoes, green chili and half of tamarind juice. Simmer for atleast 20 minutes or until tomatoes soften and mashed up.
4) Heat oil in a tadka pan. add urad dal, methi seeds. Wait till color turns to light brown. Add garlic, and red chilies. Add mustard seeds, hing, turmeric and curry leaves. Pour this tadka over rasam.
5) Add salt, crushed pepper, coriander powder and cumin powder. Boil for atleast 10 to 15 minutes.
Check the taste and adjust the spices. Add some tamarind juice if sourness is required.

Serve hot with rice or have it as a soup.

Tips:
1) Use nicely ripe red tomatoes.
2) If you don't like chunky rasam, puree 2 tomatoes instead of chopping.
3) Rasam should be spicy. However, to make it subtle, reduce the amount of black pepper.
4) Flavors intensify (in good way), if you serve rasam after couple of hours.