Garlic rasam (garlic tomato soup)

Ingredients

• Tomato, Garlic, Curry Leaves, Pepper Powder, Rasam Powder.

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Preparation

• Garlic Rasam (Garlic Tomato Soup)
  
  People suggest eating an apple a day to keep healthy and I suggest eating/drinking this garlic rasam for this chilly day, especially if you have a cold like me..(Achooo..) ..But before we dig in, let me ask you a few questions first.
  
  -Were you outside all evening yesterday, seeing the light shows or fire works?
  - Were you catching up with pals over a cuppa, enjoying the cool breeze, sitting out by the pool?
  -Any chances you over ate at the pot lucks or get-together's?
  - Feeling tired like you were awake all night (obviously, what a question)
  
  What can be better than spicy, steaming cup of garlic rasam on a cold, chilly day? Or what a way to start the new year!!!
  
  I make rasam in my eiya sombu(lead vessel) and the whole house has the aroma of rasam if I use that sombu. And I add enough garlic while making this rasam protecting me from any lurking vampires or viruses.
  
  Ingredients for garlic rasam:
  
  Medium sized tomato- 1
  
  Garlic- one whole or atleast 6-7 cloves
  
  Tamarind- lime size ball (1/2 tsp of tamarind paste if you are using paste)
  
  Cooked tuvar dal- 1/2 cup
  
  Rasam powder- 1 tsp
  
  Salt to taste
  
  Black pepper powder- one pinch
  
  Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
  
  For tempering:
  
  Ghee- 1 tsp
  
  Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
  
  Asafoetida- one pinch
  
  Curry leaves- a few
  
  Method:
  
  Soak tamarind in 2 cups of warm water. Let is sit for 10 minutes and extract the juice. Keep aside.
  
  Chop garlic lengthwise and keep aside. Dice the tomato.
  
  In a saucepan (I use eiya sombu) add salt, rasam powder, turmeric powder, chopped tomato and crush them slightly using a fork or a rough mash by hand.
  
  Add the tamarind juice and make up to 3/4th of the volume of the vessel with water. Cover and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes till some of the water has concentrated.
  
  Mash the cooked dal with a cup of water and add it to the simmering rasam in the pot. Taste and adjust salt. Add pepper powder if required. Simmer till the dal forms a froth on top. Switch off.
  
  Heat ghee in a tadka pan and add asafoetida and cumin seeds. When the seeds sizzle, add curry leaves and the chopped garlic. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes, till garlic turns golden brown. Pour this tadka over rasam. Serve hot with rice and any poriyals, my choice is potato kari or kathirikkai kari. A cup of this steaming hot rasam rice and a nice nap for 4 hours, best medicine ever.
  
  And say bye-bye to cold, flu or sore throat.

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