Carrot-Tomato Rasam: without lentils

One of my distant relatives, who stays here is a fabulous cook. She is a treasure house of authentic South Canara recipes. Here is one such simple rasam I learnt from her recently. If you go gaga over the rasam then you MUST try this. It is very simple & extremely tasty.

This is a great substitute for normal rasam for those who are advised to be low on protein in take. This is a rasam without lentils/dal.

Here is what you need.

Serves: 4-6
Preparation time: 5-10mins
Cooking time: 30mins (Including pressure cooking time)

Ingredients:
Carrot: 1 medium sized
Tomato: 3 medium sized
Potato: 1 tbsp cooked and mashed or 1/2 of medium sized potato (optional)
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Rasam powder: 1.5 tsp (adjust according to your family needs)
Tamarind: 1/2 tsp thick extract (adjust according to the sourness of the tomato)
Jaggery/Brown sugar: 1 tsp
Salt: According to taste

For tempering:
Coconut oil or any other cooking oil: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida/hing: a pinch
Curry leaves: 6-8nos


Method:

• De-skin the potato.Pressure cook the carrot, tomatoes & potato for 2-3 whistles.Allow them to cool.
• Meantime, add a cup of water to a saucepan. Add tamarind, salt, jaggery to the water & boil it.
• Grind the carrot, tomato, potato to a smooth paste. Add this paste to the boiling water. Stir well & allow it to boil.
• Add the rasam powder & boil again on medium flame.
• Prepare the tempering. Add oil in a small pan. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds. Follow it by asafoetida & curry leaves. When leaves become crisp, turn off the heat & pour the tempering over the rasam prepared.
• Stir well & serve the rasam hot with steamed rice.

Notes:

• If you prefer your rasam thin & watery, avoid adding potatoes. I mostly avoid potatoes as we prefer watery rasam.
• If you don't have home made rasam powder, use MTR rasam powder.

Some more saaru/rasam recipes at Savi-Ruchi:

Thili saaru/Udupi rasam

Ganji saaru/Porridge rasam

Nimbe thovve saaru/Lemon rasam

Instant majjige saaru/Buttermilk rasam

Punarpuli saaru/Kokum rasam

Instant pepper rasam

Appe huli/Raw mango rasam