Poondu Rasam (Garlic Soup)

This is not how I usually make rasam. I got the recipe from my friend. It came out very well. Tomato is blended with cooked dal and it makes the rasam very tasty and flavorful. Garlic is hiding on the bottom of the glass. It would simply not float :)

Serves 5

Ingredients:
Thur Dal - 1/4 cup
Tamarind - Small lime size
Tomato - 1 chopped
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Salt
Rasam Powder - 3 tsp
Coriander leaves - to garnish

Seasonings:
Ghee/oil - 2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Garlic - 6 pods sliced
Red chillies - 2
Ground pepper - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Pressure cook thur dal in about 1 cup of water for 4-5 whistles.
Soak tamarind in 1 cup of warm water and extract the juice.
Blend cooked dal and tomato with a hand blender or mixer to a smooth mixture.
To this mixture, add 2 cups of tamarind juice, hing, salt and rasam powder and boil for 15 minutes.
Now add 2 1/2 cups of water and boil for another 5 minutes.
In another pan, add ghee or oil. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add cumin, curry leaves, garlic, red chillies and ground pepper and fry till garlic turns golden brown.
Pour the seasoning over rasam.
Garnish with coriander leaves.
Mix piping hot rasam with rice and ghee and enjoy with some curry or have it as soup.

Carrot Bell pepper soup or B for Bell pepper carrot soup

No. I am not going to continue this series till Z. It is just a coincidence that my dish starts with B. After trying low fat Mysore pak(Besan Burfi) which turned out to be a disaster, I lost the mood to make sweets for diwali. Though it was low fat, I felt guilty having them cause it had 2 tbsp of ghee and loads of sugar(yeah I tried making mysore pak with 2 tbsp of ghee and no wonder it became a halwa!). To compensate for the intake of mysore pak, I walked, walked and walked 3 miles and ended up making Carrot bell pepper soup for dinner by following Laavanya's Carrot coriander soup recipe.

I didn't have coriander leaves, so I substituted it with green bell pepper(1/4 cup). I also added little milk in the end to make it extra creamy. Otherwise I followed the same method. I am a soup fan and I liked this one very much!

Note: Adding more than 1/2 tsp of sambar powder will make the soup spicy.

Creamy Vegetable Soup -No Croutons Required

This is going to Lisa's no croutons event

Ingredients:
Chopped onion-2 cups
Garlic pods-2
Frozen corn-1/4 cup
Chopped beans-1/4 cup
Chopped Cabbage-2 cups
Chopped Carrot-1/4 cup(I did not use it in this recipe)
Milk-1/4 cup
Salt
Pepper
Oil-2 tsp

Method:
Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Fry onions and garlic till they turn transparent.
Add cabbage, beans, corn and salt. Fry for a minute. Add enough water and pressure cook for 3 whistles. Using a hand blender, make a smooth paste. Pass the soup through a strainer(this step is optional). Add milk and bring the soup to boil. Sprinkle pepper and serve.

To go with this hearty soup, I made fragrant garlic scented bread(I used whole grain wheat bread).

For garlic bread:

Mix 1 tbsp of oil, 1 tbsp of soft butter, salt and pepper. Brush the bread with this mixture on both sides and toast till golden brown. Cut a garlic pod into 2 and use one piece to rub the sides of the bread.

Sweet Corn Soup- Fat Free

There is no oil or butter in this soup thus making it fat free and super healthy!
I am sending this recipe to Divya's Diet Foods Event
Ingredients:
Frozen petite sweet corn-2 cups
Cabbage finely chopped-1 tbsp
Beans finely chopped-1 tbsp
Salt
A dash of onion powder
Pepper powder-1/4 tsp or more
Corn flour-1 tbsp
Milk-1/4 cup

Method:
Boil water and corn together till corn turns soft(takes 10 minutes approx). Cool and grind it to a fine paste and pass the ground corn paste through a strainer. In a pan, add this paste, chopped cabbage, beans, milk, salt, pepper, onion powder, water(to desired consistency) and boil the mixture for 5 minutes.
Make a thick paste of corn flour with water. Add this as well. Simmer for 2 minutes.
Soup is ready!

Chef's Recipe for Tomato Soup

I got this recipe from a website. A chef had posted this recipe. I have made it several times and has always been a hit.

Ingredients:

Ripe tomatoes - 8
Carrot - 1
Garlic - 4-5 cloves
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1 tsp
Fresh Cilantro leaves - for garnishing
Rasam powder - 1/5 teaspoon.
Water

Method:

1. Pressure cook tomatoes, carrots and garlic with 2 cups of water.

2. When done allow to cool. Peel the tomatoes. (Do not throw away the water in which tomatoes/carrot/garlic were cooked). Remember to remove all the skin from the tomatoes.

3. Blend the tomatoes, cooked carrots and garlic in a mixie. Add about 1 and a 1/2 cups of water that was saved from the pressure cooked tomatoes and grind. When done, pour the blanched liquid mixture through a sieve, into a vessel.

4. Bring this liquid to boil in medium flame. Add 1 tsp sugar, salt, rasam powder and finely chopped cilantro leaves when the mixture begins to boil. Stir it a couple of times. May need to add 1/2 cup or more water depending on the consistency you want.

5. Allow to boil. (Do not over boil as it will spoil the taste and flavour). Boil for about 30 seconds. Remove from fire. Garnish with fried bread pieces just before serving(and/or one small butter cube). Sprinkle salt/pepper if you want.

No need to add corn flour.

The above quantity will serve 5.