Quick Rasam - A South Indian Soup

Name : Rasam
Type : Soup
Effort : Quick and Simple
Nativity : South India
Recipe for : People who can cook.
Time required : Ten minutes in all.

You might want to read about Rasam here :
http://dewdropdeepa.blogspot.com/2008/04/rasam.html

Quick Recipe:

Thadka :

In a sauce pan or cooking pan, splitter mustard seeds, Cumin seeds in a spoonful of Ghee. Add one sliced green chilli ( not finely chopped) and a pinch of Asafoetida powder.

Boil :
To the contents of the pan, add Water, Turmeric powder, Tomato, Tamarind, Sambar powder, or rasam powder and salt to taste. Boil for about five to seven minutes till the contents threaten to ebb out of the pan.

Garnish :
Reduce the flame to minimum and add Coriander, Curry leaves.
Add Sugar to ease the complete tartaric taste of the tamarind.

Ten min later:

Sqeeze lime - few drops of juice.

Thats the quick rasam.

Variations :

You can add soup of Dal as a last step at the boiling stage. Then, you need to increase the lime juice and reduce the tamarind in your rasam.
You can add pepper when you boil. Do not add tomato in this kind.
You can add ginger when you boil. Do not add Green Chilli in the Tadka for Ginger Rasam.
You can add a few pieces of pineapple ( finely chopped) when you boil water. Do not add tomato and reduce Sambar powder.
For lemon rasam, you will not add tamarind and sambar powder when you boil. Use one whole lime to make it perfect rasam.

Web References: Use Google for the terms that are alien to you.
Native references: Sambar powder and Rasam powder are available in all Indian Retail stores. Google for their recipes if you want to make them at home.