Nellikai Rasam/ Amla Rasam

Using little coconut oil, roast dhaniya, pepper, chillies. Grind them into a powder.(If the quantity is too little to grind, increase the proportions of each. You could use the extra powder for a different recipe, as appropriate.)

Slice the gooseberries and remove the seeds. Grind them with little water. Strain and set the juice aside.

Do not throw the pulp. Retain about 2 tbsp of the pulp to add into the rasam later.

Extract the Gooseberry in the end to conserve Vitamin C as it is easily destroyed by air and heat.

Cook toor dar, mash them well and set aside. You can also grind the toor dal with some water, strain it and use only the strained toor dal water. Dense toor dal will ruin the taste.

In the cooking pan, add this toor dal mash, salt and the freshly ground spice powder. Add salt and Jaggery. Simmer for a few minutes.(you should now sense aroma from tool dar and spice : if so, you did it right !!

Allow this toor dal mixture to cool. Add the gooseberry juice AND the 2 tbsp of pulp. Allow it to cook and blend itself in the toor dal mixture in the off-flame heat.

Ensure that there is more gooseberry juice than toor dal. After a few minutes (when even cooler), garnish with mustard seeds and a few curry leaves.

You might have noticed that I have not added turmeric powder and coriander leaves. That was intentional – to preserve the beautiful colour of the rasam and to maintain the natural flavour of gooseberry (coriander will suppress this).

Enjoy this as an appetizing drink or as common as it is, with rice (of course, ghee added !!).