Tamatar Rasam South Indian Tomato 'Soup'

Yield: Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

6 Roma Tomatoes (Tamatar) - diced 6 Fresh Curry Leaves (Kaddi Patta) 2 cloves Fresh Garlic (Leh-sun) - crushed 1 Dried Kashmiri Chile (Kashmiri Mirch) 1 Tbs Oil - can use olive, grape seed, canola, or avocado 2 tsp Rasam Powder ¾ tsp Tamarind Concentrate (Imli) ½ tsp Black Mustard Seed (Rai) ½ tsp Cumin Seed (Jeera) ⅛ tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper (Kali Mirch) ⅛ tsp Fenugreek Seed (Dana Methi) 1 pinch (⅟16 tsp) Asafoetida Powder (Hing) Kosher Salt (Namak) to taste 3 Cups Water

Preparation:

1) Heat oil in a medium/large pot or large kadahi over medium-high heat until shimmering 2) Once oil is hot, add mustard seed, cumin seed, and fenugreek seed - Sauté until mustard seeds pop (apx 35 seconds) - Add Kashmiri chile and asafoetida - Sauté for another 30 seconds 3) Add curry leaves and sauté for 1 minute 4) Add tomatoes and continue to sauté until tomatoes are soft and 'mushy' (apx 2 minutes) 5) Add garlic and continue to sauté for 1 minute 6) Add water and give everything a good stir - Add rasam powder and thoroughly combine 7) Bring to a boil - Reduce heat to medium 8) Add tamarind and black pepper - Thoroughly combine 9) Give it a taste and adjust seasoning with salt to taste and/or more tamarind if desired 10) Allow rasam to boil uncovered for 3-5 minutes 11) Remove from heat, stir in coriander leaves, and serve hot along with steamed basmati rice, pickle, idli, dosa, medu vada, papaad, or as part of a South Indian Thali

Taz Doolittle www.TazCooks.com