Pepper Rasam

I am not a big fan of sweets. Spicy, tangy are my flavors. Today's post pepper rasam is a spicy tangy soup made with lentils and falvoured with freshly ground pepper.
Back home in India, our meal often comprised of a dal, rasam/sambar or pulusu and a curry or a fry. Rasam/sambar was a must every day and my mom can cook at least 10 different varieties of rasams.
This pepper rasam tastes heavenly specially when you are down with cold/cough.

Ingredients:

• Toor dal: 1/4 cup
• Pepper Corns: 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
• Tamarind Juice: 1 tbsp
• Salt as required.
• Chopped Cilantro: 2 tbsp

Seasoning:

• Oil: 2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
• Curry Leaves: 4
• Red chillies( Broken): 3
• Turmeric: 1/2 tsp
• Asoefetida(hing): a pinch

Procedure:

1. Boil the dal with enough water in a pressure cooker until you get 2-3 whistles.
2. While the dal is boiling prepare the spice mix grinding the pepper corns and cumin seeds in a spice grinder into a fine powder and set it aside.
3. When the dal is cooled, mash it well into a paste or you can use a blender to make a thin paste.
4. Add more water to the dal paste and mix well and let it boil for 10 minutes.
5. Add tamarind juice, salt and the pepper cumin powder and mix well. Boil the liquid with spices for few more minutes.
6. Now add the seasoning ingredients to a pan in the order mentioned and when the seeds start spluttering, add it to the boiling dal. Turn off the stove and garnish with Cilantro.
7. Serve with steamed rice.