Garlic rasam

Garlic is used copiously in Indian cuisine, except in the Jain culture. It is essential in almost every household. The term "garlic" is Anglo-Saxon in origin and derived from "garleac" which means "spear leek" because of the shape of its leaves. It is one of the oldest recorded plants in history, and the earliest traces of it date back to the Egyptians who used it in theory toms to assist the journey of the dead. There are Biblical references to garlic. Ancient medical texts from Egypt, Greece, Rome, China and India each prescribed medical applications for garlic.

Rasam has a deep history in South India. It is a light soup made with lentils, spices, and tamarind. There are countless variations of this soup, which change with community, region, and even between households.

This is a classic version. It is loaded with garlic, enough to keep the vampires away, and is bold in flavour. The spices pop and the garlic is strong. Many consider garlic rasam to be a medicinal elixir, one that follows the old texts, where garlic has always been considered a medicinal plant. We love this rasam at home; it opens up the palate and stimulates the digestive juices. I love serving rasam as an opening drink for this reason.

This is one of the first cookbooks that I bought about 30 years ago. I craved good South Indian cuisine when I moved to Philadelphia for my degree. We have cooked through most of the recipes in this cookbook, each one delicious, it helped us remember our lives in India while we assimilated in the US. This cookbook is always the first to come out when we crave this cuisine, and of course, led me to get every other cookbook written by Chandra Padmanabhan.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

For the rasam powder:

2 dried red chillies

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

1 teaspoon Bengal gram dal (toor dal)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 tablespoon ghee or oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 dried red chillies

12 curry leaves

2 tablespoons tamarind pulp

6 cups water

Salt, to taste

1 teaspoon ghee

25 garlic cloves, small ones left whole and the larger ones cur to approximately the same size.

Individually roast all the ingredients for the rasam powder until lightly coloured and aromatic. Cool completely. Grind to a fine powder in a spice mill. Ser aside.

Heat the ghee/oil in a small pot and add the mustard seeds. They will pop in about 20 seconds. Add the dried red chillies and curry leaves and fry for 30 seconds. Add the rasam powder and cook for 10 seconds more, being careful not to burn the rasam powder.

Add the tamarind and water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the ghee in a small frying pan on low heat. Add the garlic and fry for 3-4 minutes until it is very soft and light brown in colour. Transfer to the rasam.

Simmer the rasam for 10 minutes more, a total time of 30 minutes.

Serve warm with rice if desired.