Vepampoo Rasam

Vepampoo is dried neem flower. Like neem leaves, neem flowers are great anti-bacterial agents. They help fix a rumbling, unhappy tummy and detoxify the body. Well, all things that are great for your body come with a sneaky caveat. Vempampoo is extremely bitter. So one can't just chomp on them. They need to be handled with some spice and flavor so that the bitterness is toned down. Vempampoo rasam (or broth) is a good dish that balances the bitterness with some subtle spices. Another way to use vepampoo is to simply fry them in ghee (clarified butter) until they are golden and mix with rice for a flavorful (albeit slightly bitter) rice. The bitterness goes well with vepampoo's inherent flavor.

This rasam recipe comes down from my great grandmother, who was a great cook and a wonderful human being. Here's honoring her, and thinking of her...

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

1. 1 inch ball of tamarind, soaked in 1 cup hot water for 15-20 minutes
2. 3 dry red chillies
3. 2 teaspoons toor dal / tuvaram paruppu / yellow lentils
4. 1/4 teaspoon hing / asafoetida
5. 1/2 tablespoon ghee / clarified butter (use ghee and only ghee)
6. 1/4 heaped cup of dried neem flower / vepampoo
7. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
8. pinch of turmeric powder
9. 1/2 teaspoon of salt or as needed
10. a few curry leaves

Preparation:

1. Extract the juice from the tamarind until the pulp has no "juice" remaining. Discard pulp.
2. In a skillet, melt ghee. When hot, splutter mustard seeds. Then add curry leaves, and dried neem flower and fry on low-medium heat until the neem flowers are golden. Remove and set aside.
3. Add dry red chillies, toor dal,  and extracted tamarind juice to a sauce pan. Add salt, turmeric powder, 1/2 cup water and hing and boil on medium heat for 10-15 minutes until the tamarind doesn't smell raw. 
4. Add 1/2 cup of water, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the broth is frothy and bubbly around the edges. 
5. Now, remove from heat and add the roasted neem flowers and mix well. 

Serve with rice for a comforting and healthy meal. This is an extremely simple rasam with deceptively simple ingredients.