Lemon rasam and a Thank You note!

You must all be wondering where I disappeared for ages! It took me sometime to come back to normal after our visit to India. I had the chance to learn many new dishes from my mom and my mother-in-law during my trip. Hopefully I will be trying them all soon and posting them here. The weather in California has been cold during the past week which is quite abnormal during this time of the year.. This lemon rasam is perfect for such a weather and it is quite simple and easy to make..It is an ultimate comfort food and can be whipped up in minutes.

Ingredients

Cooked Toor Dhall - 1/2 cup
Tomato - 1 finely chopped
Green chillies - 2
Ginger - 1 inch
Lemon juice - from 1 medium sized lemon
Salt or to taste
Few sprigs of coriander leaves

For the tempering

Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Pepper powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Ghee - 1 teaspoon

Directions

Chop tomatoes finely, also chop green chillies and ginger.

In a heavy bottomed pan, on medium heat, add 2 cups of water, chopped tomatoes, green chillies and ginger. Allow it to boil for about 5 minutes or till the tomatoes turn tender. Add turmeric, pepper powder and salt. Add coriander leaves. Finally add the cooked dhall and let it simmer for about 3 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice and mix well. Take care not to add the lemon juice while the rasam is still on heat. This makes the rasam turn bitter.

In a small pan do the tempering with ghee, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add the tempering to the rasam and stir well.

Serve hot with rice and curry of your choice.

This rasam is a simple dish to make on lazy nights for dinner. Hence I am sending this to Recipes for the rest of us - Dinner hosted at dear Siri's Place and started by Ramki

And coming to the thank you note, I know it is too late to thank my dear friend Siri for sending me this valuable gift for winning MBP:Cheese. It was a pleasant surprise to get the gift when i received all my mails after our return from India. It was an amazing book - "The Well Decorated Cake' by Toba Garrett. Thanks a lot Siri and thanks again to all my dear blogger friends who voted for me!