Mysore Rasam

Rasam (spiced tomato-lentil soup) is a staple in South India. Every state, and almost every household has its own variation of rasam. This version of Rasam is popular in the state of Karnataka. Having tasted the authentic rasam from friends (and restaurants) in Karnataka, I have to say that this recipe is more of an adaptation of the actual Mysore Rasam, but it's very close to the original, extremely flavorful, and is different from the usual tomato rasam. My mother-in-law prepared this delicious rasam using a grand-aunt's treasured recipe. So, here's the recipe for Mysore Rasam as adapted by a talented Tamil chef!

Ingredients:

1. 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2. 3 teaspoons coriander seeds (dhania seeds)
3. 2.5 teaspoons kadala paruppu / bengal gram dhal
4. 2-3 dry red chillies
5. ¼ teaspoon hing / asafoetida
6. ½ + 1 teaspoon jeera / cumin seeds
7. 1+1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter)
8. 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
9. 1 tomato, chopped
10. 1 inch ball of tamarind (a small lime sized)
11. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
12. handful of cilantro / coriander leaves
13. ¾ cup cooked toor dhal / yellow lentils / tuvaram paruppu
14. 1 - 2 tablespoons shredded coconut (optional)
15. 1 tablespoon jaggery / brown sugar

Preparation:

1. Cook toor dhal until soft and almost mushy. The mushier the better for rasam.
2. Soak the tamarind in hot water for 15 minutes. Then, extract the juice by squeezing the  soft pulp. Strain the juice. Repeat the process with lukewarm water and squeeze out more juice until the tamarind is dry. Throw the tamarind residue and reserve the extract/juice.
3. In 1 teaspoon of ghee, roast the peppercorns, coriander seeds, bengal gram dhal, chillies, hing, coconut (optional) and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds. Add the cumin seeds in the end because it roasts much faster than the other ingredients. Roast everything on medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until the bengal gram dhal begins to change color and all the spices release their aroma. 
4. When cool, grind the above to a coarse powder. If the powder is fine, it will clump up and thicken the rasam. 
5. In a medium sauce-pan, add the tomato, tamarind extract, turmeric, and salt. Bring to a boil on medium or medium-high heat. Add some water (about 1/2 - 1 cup) during the boiling phase if you think there isn't enough liquid. Mysore rasam is traditionally slightly sweet. So, add some jaggery or brown sugar during this phase of boiling. Let the mixture boil for 20 minutes or until there is no raw tamarind smell and the tomatoes are cooked. 
6. At this stage, add the ground spices, stir well, and let it boil for 5 minutes on medium heat. 
7. Then, add the cooked dhal and mix well. Reduce the heat to low and let the rasam simmer until it begins to bubble gently around the corners. Remove from heat. Do not over boil rasam.
8. For seasoning, heat some ghee in a small pan. Splutter mustard seeds, add hing, and cumin seeds and roast for a few seconds. Add this seasoning to the rasam. Finally garnish with chopped cilantro/coriander leaves. 

Serve hot with rice! I suspect Mysore/Karnataka rasams to have some cinnamon and/or cloves and some fenugreek seeds in the spice mixture. I might be wrong, but I'm thinking of experimenting with these spices the next time. If you have inside-knowledge of what goes into the spice powder, I would love it if you could share it with me! I would greatly appreciate it.

Mor Keerai

Spinach and other leafy greens can be cooked in several ways. This particular recipe makes a unique side dish that incorporates classic Tam-Brahm spices with coconut and yogurt. It tastes really good too!

Ingredients:

1. 2 teaspoons thoor dhal / thuvaram paruppu / lentils
2. 1 - 2 dry red chillies
3. 1 teaspoon jeera / cumin seeds
4. 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
5. 3 cups spinach
6. ¾ teaspoon salt
7. ¼ cup yogurt
8. ¼ teaspoon hing
9. 1 tablespoon olive oil / vegetable oil
10. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
11. 1 teaspoon ulutham paruppu / split urad dhal / split black gram dhal

Preparation:

1. Soak the thoor dhal, red chillies, and cumin seeds in enough water to just about cover them, for 30 minutes. Later, grind everything along with coconut to a smooth paste. You can use the water that was used for soaking. Mix this paste with yogurt.
2.  Meanwhile wash and roughly chop the spinach. Cook the spinach with about 1/2 cup of water (or as needed) and salt. Do not add to much water because the dish will turn watery. Remember spinach wilts drastically.
3. When the spinach is cooked, add the ground spices and yogurt and bring the mixture to exactly one boil on medium heat. Do not over-boil yogurt. Remove from heat. 
4. For seasoning, heat oil in a small pan. When hot, splutter mustard seeds, then add hing, and ulutham paruppu and fry for a few seconds until the dhal begins to change color. Add the seasoning to the cooked and spiced spinach and mix well. 

Serve while hot with rice or rotis. 

Carrot-Pineapple Cake

Baking is a true stress reliever for me. So I pounce on every opportunity to bake a cake for a group of people, because as we all know, baking for oneself is a terrible idea.

So for a friend's birthday, I baked Ina's carrot-pineapple cake. As usual, I followed the recipe to the tee, except for a couple of minor changes. I used cardamom powder instead of cinnamon, crunchy granola instead of walnuts, and true to the reviewers on Food Network, I baked the cake for only 47 minutes (yeah, I am that precise about baking time). Baking for 55-60 minutes would have surely resulted in a dense, dry cake. Thankfully I read the reviews! So, depending on  your oven and the pans you use (I used 9-inch pans), start checking on the cake after 30-35 minutes. I also soaked the raisins in some pineapple juice for about an hour. It plumped the raisins and infused them with more flavor. This recipe yields a supremely moist and delicious carrot cake! Since I added cardamom, the cake tasted like baked gajjar halwa ;). Highly recommended by me and the family. 

two layers of carrot cake studded with raisins and pineapples

While I would recommend the cake, I wouldn't recommend the frosting as much. This is the first time I went all gung-ho on a rich cream-cheese-buttercream frosting. I tell you, it became impossible to physically allow myself to add a pound of sugar, and a pound (and some more) of butter/cream cheese. But I did persist, notwithstanding a "little" bit of butter I resisted adding. And I managed to slather most of it on the cake. However, the consistency was a little off and it seemed to make the cake a tad too sweet. So I would recommend skipping this particular frosting or making just half of the recommend amount so the cake is just lightly glazed with it.

But this is a carrot cake that should be entered in all baking recipe books!

Eggless Lemon Cake

My family members are ardent fans of Starbucks - coffee, muffins, breads, cakes, etc. For a while now, I have been trying to recreate their lemon cake/lemon loaf. Ina Garten's lemon loaf/lemon yogurt cake recipe is excellent and according to me, is even better than the Starbucks' version. But the recipe requires eggs. Wanting the best of both worlds, I have been trying to bake an eggless lemon cake that  at least comes close to the real deal. Adapting from Piece of Cake, this is the recipe I used to make the eggless version.

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1 cup sugar
3. 1 teaspoon baking soda
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 1 - 1.25 cups milk (I used 1.25 cups of 2% milk)
6. The zest of two whole lemons (a lot, I know)
7.  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8. 1 tablespoon  lemon juice
9. 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used just a little more than 1/4 cup because I added extra milk)

For the glaze: You need 1/3 cup lemon juice and 1/3 cup sugar. Heat the sugar and juice on medium heat, constantly stirring, until the sugar completely dissolves and makes a syrup of desired consistency. You can't go wrong with this. This glaze makes a difference to the cake - trust me. Do not skip it.

Preparation:

1. Butter/grease an 8 or 9 inch pan (I used a 9 inch pan). Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Mix the dry ingredients (advisable to sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together). Mix in sugar along with the flour-soda-salt. 
3. Separately mix the wet ingredients, except lemon juice. I was nervous of directly adding it to milk. First whisk together the milk, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and then whisk in the oil. 
4. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir slowly and gently until just incorporated. Finally, add the lemon juice and give a final stir. The batter will look fizzy and more liquid-y than usual cake batters. It's fizzy because of all the lemon, soda, salt action. Don't worry, the cake will turn out fine. 
5. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then gently loosen the cake by running a knife around the edges and flip it onto a plate. With a fork, poke some holes on top of the cake. Pour the lemon syrup/glaze over the cake and let it soak in for 15 minutes or more before serving. It's not necessary to use all the syrup. Use as required. 

The cake is intensely lemony, moist, and quite light. It's not dense or chewy, but arguably not as fluffy as the version that takes eggs. Still, people liked it and went for second helpings! This is a good lemon cake that's easy to make to go alongside coffee and tea. 

Green (Monster) Smoothie

We usually prepare a week's worth of smoothies every weekend for a quick breakfast/evening "snack" when we are too tired to make something. Our favorite smoothie combination is berries, banana, apples, natural protein powder, and milk. And no sugar ever. This week, inspired by the Green Monster Movement, I tried a green smoothie and it turned out yummy! It does need more ingredients than a regular fruit smoothie that requires just fruits, milk and protein powder. But the nutritive value of this green smoothie far outweighs the cost of spending a few minutes to assemble the ingredients. And it tastes good too! The husband detests kale and raw spinach, but even he called it "decent", which is saying something. I don't receive any superlative adulation ever (or hardly any adulation for that matter) so "decent" and "okay" are gold standards to aspire!

This smoothie is nutritious, easy to make, filling, and pleasant on the palate. I added a bunch of other ingredients to mask the bitterness and raw taste of Kale. Peanut butter and yogurt are for protein and probiotics, flax seeds are for fiber and omega-fatty acids, almonds for texture, taste, and more omega goodness, and maple syrup for flavor and slight sweetness.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup blueberries
2. 1 banana
3. 3 handfuls spinach
4. 2 handfuls torn Kale leaves (about 4 leaves)
5. 1/3 cup yogurt
6. low fat milk (as needed to thin the smoothie to desired consistency)
7. 1/2 cup almonds
8. 1/4 cup peanut butter
9. 3 tablespoons flax seeds, or ground flax seeds
10. 2 tablespoons maple syrup (optional of course)

Blend everything together to make a yummy smoothie! This makes 5 cups of smoothie. You can get creative and add other combinations of fruits, nuts, cocoa powder etc. I plan to add spirulina powder and wheat grass the next time. My smoothies are going green from today!