Making Tomato Rasam in 12 easy steps

This post tells you about a simple way of preparing Tomato Rasam (in 12 easy steps)

Items required:

• Tomatoes (Apple tomatoes-the big red round ones, not the smaller local variety), say ½ kg
• Onion: 2 units
• MTR Rasam powder
• Dhania (aromatic green leaves which are added in all dishes)
• Salt
• Coconut powder(optional)
• Chilli powder and Haldi (optional)
• Tamarind and Green Chilli (optional)
• One small/medium sized vessel to cook and a gas stove.

Safety precautions:
Keep Ambulance and paramedic staff on standby before consuming the product generated through this experiment. A sample may even be sent to CFTRI or other labs for declaring it fit for consumption.

Try on yourself first, before feeding roommates/visitors/others

Making Tomato Rasam in 12 Easy Steps:
1. Clean tomato and onion (about 5-6 tomatoes, 2 onions)
2. chop the vegetables & pour them into vessel
3. Add water
4. Add a bit of tamarind and green chili (optional)
5. Switch on the stove
6. Add salt- 4-5 tea spoons
7. Add Rasam powder: No specific quantity- I just pour directly from the packet, to my heart’s content. (let us say 6-8 tea spoons)
8. Add little bit chilli powder, little haldi and Coconut powder (optional)
stir to mix properly
9. Wait till it boils (if you plan to leave the kitchen while it boils, be sure to set an alarm and come back within about 5 mins, else the vessel will dry up)
10. Reduce intensity of flame, let it continue to boil for few more mins
11. Switch off the stove.
12. Add dhaniya leaves, chopped (optional, but highly recommended)

Done.
Taste it. If found eatable, mix it with rice and consume. Else discard and go to hotel. (Rice needs to be prepared separately-Read Jammy’s post on how to prepare rice

Note 1: This is a my way of cooking-All those mentioned optional are strictly optional-Rasam can be made without them too. Regular home makers would cook it in a different way-by adding grams, coconut etc.

Note 2: By replacing Rasam powder with Sambar powder and Tomato with any other vegetable, the recipe can be used to prepare XYZ Sambar as well (where XYZ is name of the vegetable whose sambar you wish to make)- Highly flexible you see...

Note 3: This recipe is custom prepared for bachelors who will have very limited number of vessels, ingredients and accessories in kitchen. Primary objective will be to cook something eatable as fast as possible, without having to spend several hours in the kitchen meddling with dozens of ingredients, vessels and accessories. Time, cost and effort spent in procuring the ingredients to preparing the meals to washing the dishes will also be a major consideration, vis-à-vis visiting a hotel nearby.

Statutory Disclaimer: Anyone who dares to experiment this recipe is understood to have excused this blogger for any possible accidents/damages/issues before, during or after the preparation of food item.

Also read: My cooking expedition (May 2006 post) * Natural drinks for this summer * Domino's Stuffed Crunch Pizza *