Wednesday 16 June 2010

Nataraja Iyer Rasam


This rasam recipe was invented by Nataraja Iyer. Long time ago he wrote a cookery column in a tamil magazine. At that time he gave this recipe to his readers. My mom used to prepare it often. It was a big hit in our household. Everyone liked it. I forgot this recipe for a long time and one fine day I  remembered about this rasam. I asked my mom for the recipe even she could not remember it. So I searched in internet and found a single post about this rasam.

This rasam preparation is very unique. We never boil tamarind juice when making rasam but this recipe calls for boiling the tamarind extract. Nataraja Iyer asked the readers to prepare this rasam in a brass vessel (pithalai sombu) for a better taste. I do not have any brass vessel. So I prepared it in a heavy-bottomed aluminium cooker. This is the most flavourful rasam I ever had. Anybody will get hooked to it,  because of  its nice aroma and excellent taste. Try this, you will love it.



Ingredients :

Cooked and mashed toor dhal- 1 cup
Tamarind- size of a lemon
Dried red chillies- 5 nos
Green chillies- 4 nos
Curry leaves- 20 leaflets
Jeera seeds- 2 tspns
Black whole pepper- 1 tspn
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tspn
Asafoetida powder- 1/4 tspn
Mustard, fenugreek and jeera seeds- 1/2 tspn
Jaggery (vellam)- a small piece
Garlic- 3 pods (crushed)
Salt to taste
Oil or ghee for tempering- 1 tbspn

Method :

Cook and mash toor dhal. Mix 2 cups of water to it and keep aside. Take tamarind and soak it in 3/4 cup of  warm water for 10 minutes. Extract the tamarind juice by squeezing it . Now add 3/4 cup of water again to the extracted tamarind juice. Once again add 3/4 cup of water. Take the tamarind juice in a brass or any heavy-bottomed vessel. To this add broken red chillies, crushed green chillies, curry leaves,  a small jaggery piece, salt, turmeric and asafoetida powder. Boil this mixture well until it becomes half of its original volume. Now add the cooked dhal and coarsely ground jeera and balck pepper seeds to the boiled tamarind mixture. Boil this mixture again until a froathy layer forms on the top. Remove from fire. Take a pan. Heat oil or ghee. When the oil gets heated add mustard, methi seeds (fenugreek) and jeera seeds. When they splutter add curry leaves and crushed garlic. Switch off the stove and transfer the tempered ingredients to the rasam. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. A very aromatic rasam will be ready to be served.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Use brass vessel if possible or any heavy-bottomed vessel. Do not miss any ingredients. Ghee adds a lot of flavour. Use tamarind which is sour enough. Happy cooking !!!

37 comments:

  1. rasam looks yummy...i loved this version...

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  2. Anything Iyer name in it, I LOVE it. Looks so good, love to make it.

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  3. rasam looks great Manju...last pic is so tempting...mmm...slurppp!

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  4. Looks delicious authentic rasam. Thank you for sharing.

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  5. Oh..Wow! Nataraja Iyer Rasam ma..superb ba irukku..thanks for sharing..

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  6. WO... WO... How mouthwatering is that rasam. Looks so good. My fav... YUM!

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  7. Nice paruppu rasam Manju, adding ghee to rasam is new to me, love to have this rasam with hot plain rice and appalam.

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  8. hey its really different recipe of rasam.. today 1'm gonna try it...really thnx 4 sharing... good work..and the rasam luks very tempting..

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  9. manju this is a new rasam recipe idea to me.anyform of rasam is delcious and healthy..best combination with rice too.. sure will try this one.. sounds delicious

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  10. Such a comforting food..looks awesome..

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  11. Manju,

    I need to try this rasam. Looks really good.

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  12. I do parappu rasam this way, only thing, I exclude green chillies, and fenugreek :)

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  13. tempting and inviting rasam.Thanks for visiting my blog and giving a wonderful comment.you r always welcome to my blog.you too have a nice blog and I too hope to visit u off and on.

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  14. Looks yummy, rasam is my favorite too, love to try this...

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  15. Sounds lovely. Actually, even when my mom prepares rasam (what we call charu in Andhra), she always boils tamarind extract :)

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  16. seems to be a long procedure..the photos confirms that its worth giving a try!
    good one manju!

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  17. Why does my rasam never taste right? Yours looks beautiful and I bet it tasted spectacular. I should make it again using your recipe :)

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  18. love to taste this sambar if any left..;-P...great recipe!!

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  19. simple,yummy and declious....comfort food...love with steamed rice or as is as soup

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  20. yummy rasam,love to have it with hot rice.nice click too

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  21. Muchas gracias por visitar mi blog. Arriba, en la parte derecha, tienes la posibilidad de poder traducirlo a varios idiomas.

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  22. rasam is always a hit n our home, n this looks absolutely delicious.

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  23. Wow! I love rasam! I'd sip the bowl completely! Absolutely yummy and healthy!

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  24. Such a comfort food...looks delicious:)

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  25. Natraja Iyer rasam..wow!!Thanks for sharing!!

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  26. Love this new rasam recipe dear. Looks so inviting. Will definitely try....thanks for sharing such an authentic one.

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  27. Never cooked rasam. Your preparation looks great...always got the taste of it at other's place or somewhere outside.

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  28. good one manju will try it and let u know

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  29. My friend prepares Rasam in the same way...It is delicious..

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  30. This rasam looks and sounds fabulous ! Look forward to trying this...

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  31. Nice to try the Rasam your way.

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  32. AKKA

    AM A RASAM SPECIALIST...

    BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONE DISH I KNEW WELL,

    NICE TO C HERE AGAIN..

    VALGA VALAMUDAN

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  33. Hi
    Nice to go thru ur blog.Love to try rasam
    recipe any number of times.Thanks for posting
    Natraj Iyer's recipe.Is it a brass vessel to
    be used? Normally tamarind shd not be cooked
    in brass unless it is 'EEYAM' coated.We use EEYACHOMBU for making rasam even now for the
    unique aroma and taste.Shd try in vengala urili
    first time.

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  34. Hi
    I tried your rasam, It was perfect and delicious...

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  35. great recipe.I was under the impression that Iyers generally include onion and asafoetida but are reluctant to use poondhu.

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  36. Hey Nice rasam recipe. I was looking for
    iyer rasam since long time; this one seems to be delicious.

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