Kothamalli Rasam / Coriander Soup

I love to have different kinds of rasam rather than usual garlic or tomato rasam. I made slight changes in my friend’s (Thilaga) rasam recipe and tried this coriander rasam. It came out so good and I just loved it :).
Ingredients:

• Tamarind – Small lemon size
• Oil – 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida – a pinch
• Curry leaves – a few
• Red Chillies – 1
• Tomatoes – 2 (medium size finely chopped)
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
• Sambar powder – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1 1/2 tsp (adjust according to taste)
• Coriander leaves – to garnish

To Grind:

• Black pepper – 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Green Chilly – 1 (small)
• Garlic – 2 large cloves
• Coriander strings – 20

Method of Preparation:

1. Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract the juice.
2. Grind pepper, cumin seeds and green chilly.
3. Then add the coriander leaves and grind (everything without adding water).
4. Finally add the garlic and pulse it (garlic should be just crushed).
5. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds followed by curry leaves and asafoetida.
6. Add the ground masala and fry for a minute.
7. Then add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, sambar powder and add the salt.
8. Sautee till the tomatoes become soft and then add the tamarind extract.
9. Add required amount of water.
10. Turn off the heat when it starts to bubble.
11. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Note:

• We can add just a tbsp of coconut while grinding the coriander but that is totally optional.

Coconut and Rice Kheer – Thengai Arisi Payasam

Kheer or Payasam is an Indian dessert made for festivals and special occasions. Coconut and Rice kheer is popular in South India and I love this kheer just for the combination of rice and coconut cooked in milk. To sweeten this dish, we can add either sugar or jaggery. I prefer sugar to jaggery for this payasam. Finally enhanced with the flavor of cardamom and fried cashew nut. It is a bit time consuming but very simple procedure. Try this and let me know how it turns out.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 2 hours

No. of servings: 6 t0 7

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice – 4 tbsp
• Shredded coconut – 1/2 cup
• Milk – 8 cups
• Sugar – 3/4 cup
• Cardamom pods – 4
• Broken cashew nut – 2 tbsp
• Ghee (clarified butter) – 1 tsp

Method of Preparation:

1. Soak basmati rice for 30 minutes.
2. Heat milk in a heavy bottomed pan or pot and bring it to a boil over medium heat.
3. Lower the heat and allow it boil. Since I used skim milk (fat free milk) I let it reduce to almost half the quantity (from 8 cups to 5 cups), frequently stirring in between. This may take an hour or little more than that.
4. If you are using full fat milk or 2% milk you can let it reduce to 3/4th of its quantity since we do not want the consistency to be too thick.
5. Grind coconut and rice with a little water to a coarse paste.
6. When milk is reduced to the required amount, add rice coconut paste and let it cook.
7. When rice is fully cooked add sugar and let it cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
8. I like my payasam not too thick. So you can turn off the stove when a desired consistency is obtained.
9. Heat  a tsp of ghee in a small pan and add broken cashew nut.
10. Once the cashew nut becomes golden brown, remove from heat.
11. Add it to the payasam along with powdered cardamom.
12. Note:
13. If you want to reduce the cooking time, you can substitute half of the milk with a can of evaporated milk and follow the same procedure. This helps to bring the milk to a thick consistency faster.

Rava Laddu – Sooji Laddu

Rava Laddu or Sooji Laddu is a popular Indian sweet made specially for Diwali festival and also on special occasions. It is easy to make and takes only a few minutes. There are different versions of this laddu but this is my favorite and my mom’s recipe. It has a smooth texture and it just melts in your mouth.

Sooji and sugar are finely ground and mixed together and made into laddus with ghee. It is generally tough to fine grind sooji (rava) at home. So my mom gives it to the flour mill for grinding. But for people who live abroad, you can bring finely ground sooji from India or just use your dry grinder (or mixie) for grinding sooji. See recipe for details.Preparation time: 60 minutes

Yield: 50 Laddus

Ingredients:

• Rava (sooji) – 500 g
• Sugar – 1 kg
• Cardamom – 10
• Ghee (clarified butter) – 200 g (approx: 1 to 1.5 cups)
• Broken cashew nut – 1/4 cup

Method of Preparation:

Dry roast rava until light golden color. In the same pan dry roast cardamom for a minute. Grind rava and sugar in a flour mill (this method is for those who live in India and have access to flour mills).

Another method: Grind sugar and cardamom to a fine powder and sift using a fine sieve. Grinding rava in a dry mixer grinder (mixie) is a challenge. It consumes time. Grind it to a fine powder and sift using a fine sieve. This process needs to be repeated to get a finely ground flour.  Both rava and sugar has to be finely ground.

Fry the broken cashew nut in a teaspoon of ghee.

In a big bowl mix  ground rava, sugar and cardamom mixture. Melt ghee and slowly add 3/4 th of it to the bowl and keep mixing. The flour will hold its shape when press and hold it in your palm.  At this stage stop adding ghee.  Take a handful of flour and shape it into small balls. 

Store it in an air tight container.