This post comes to you straight from the middle of the world, all the way from Ghana, from a very good blogger friend and my guide in so many culinary aspects – Lata Raja.of Flavours & Tastes, ..Yes, lets hear it for her!!! I had always wanted the authentic tamil recipe for Poricha Rasam and I urged Lata to post it on Anubhavati for the Guest Blog Series. She felt it was way too simple for a Guest Post – But in many ways, the most tasty things in life are extremely simplistic. So here goes…the recipe for Poricha Rasam,. Try it and I am sure you`ll love its delicate flavours of tamarind, tomato and the zing from the roasted spices.
Porichcha rasam:
Porichcha rasam can be made quite easily as it does not involve soaking the tamarind and extracting pulp. Also the dhal used is far less in quantity, that you may use the more lighter water that surfaces on the top after the thick precipitate settles down, which we may eventually use for sambhar.
INGREDIENTS:
Tomatoes 2 large
Toor Dhal extract 300 ml ( pressure cooked thuvar dhal, mashed and water added to it)
Asafoetida powder a pinch
Turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon
Salt to taste.
To be dry roasted and ground to a paste:
2 teaspoons channa dhal
3 pieces dry red chilli (adjust according to spice requirement)
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
4-6 black pepper corns.
Tempering:
1 teaspoon ghee
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
few curry leaves.
Garnish
Fresh coriander leaves.
PREPARATION:
- Boil tomatoes and remove the peel. Mash the pulp and add to the dhal extract.
- Add some more water and bring this to a boil with salt and turmeric powder added to it.
- Add the ground paste and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Add asafoetida powder.
- Remove from the stove top and temper with the ingredients listed.
- Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve with hot steamed rice.
HINTS:
- Optionally some coconut may be added to the grinding of the roasted spices to make a variety of Mysore rasam.
- On days you dont have cooked toor dhal ready, you may mix paruppu podi in water, if you have handy, and add to the tomatoes. In such a case, reduce the spice because the paruppu podi will have salt and spice in it.
- For a more tangy taste, squeeze the juice of 1/2 of a lime fruit after removing from the flame. Alternately you may make a small ball of tamarind and boil along with the tomatoes and remove the scum while pulping the tomatoes.
- You may choose to grind only the channa dhal and coriander seeds along with red chillis and add the cumin powder and black pepper powder to the tempering.
I tried Lata`s version of Porichcha Rasam yesterday and loved the results. I did have loads of tomatoes leftover from the making of Delicious TOmato Thokku, which were slowly beginning to get over ripe. …I remembered Nupur`s event and I quickly tried Lata`s Poricha Rasam but made a few modifications though.
- I used dilute tamarind water for a base as I prefer rasam with a little tang.
- I also used “Arkansas Tomatoes” as i felt that they were almost close to the flavourful tangy tomatoes that you get in India. I was very pleased with the results.
- I dry ground the dry roasted spices and added them to the toor-dhal-tomato water.
- Aromatic and tang infused Porichcha Rasam was very delicious and comforting.
- Served with Beans Poriyal and Ten Minute Cucumber Kootu.
Anubhavati -Tastes from my kitchen 
Poricha rasam vasanai mukka thookuthu..all the way here through your pics…super ah irukku!
Hey I love that froth in your rasam. I think, done in the microwave, i hardly get that in my rasams.
Superb recipe, very original, I added a garlic clove crushed in the tempering….!
Nice….
More than the rasam, the words, in the world most tasty things are simple in nature sounds very well. thanks for the wonderful recipe.
mmmmm…really good looking:-):-)
Hi Lata,
its not in the microwave…i wait for it to froth on the electric stove top….
Rasam looks very delicious lataji….lovely!
Lovely post. The rasam looks so tangy. Regarding your question about the icecream, i just used the regular milk that we get here…..not fat free. Do let me know how it turns out.
Hmm what should I say. Just delicious. Too warm and absolutely magic for this weather. Thanks