Punarpuli Saaru aka Kokum Rasam:

To start with this wonder fruit, I should introduce its plant, benefit, procedure to preserve the outer skin, to rest of the world. Kokum is belonging to Guttiferae family, same as mangosteen and its botanical name is Garcinia Indica, is a fruit bearing plant only found in western Ghats and coastal southern India.

 (pic source : From, Vidya lakshmi of SAHAJA FARMS ) 

It is a summer fruit, which is widely used for juices or Rasam in our region to quench thirst as well as to balance body heat. It has so many health benefits as well. It is a natural healer for acidity.

It is a ritual in our native to dry the outer skin in summer months to preserve to use whenever it is needed. Fresh fruit of Kokum is often halved, discard the inner pulpy white part which is a fleshy coating of real seed to make Kokum butter, which is used in medicinal as well as cosmetic products as a raw material. Then outer dark maroon skin will be sun dried and when it becomes crispy, it’s stored in an air tight manner. During this process, we used to prepare fresh pulp to make juice and I used to love fresh juice from its inner pulp. It is much tastier than the outer dried skin juice.

The seed kernels which are coated with white flesh (fruit) has oil content, which is solid at room temperature. When I was young, our grand mom used to prepare kokum butter from these seeds and it used to be like a wax ball and she always used to keep this ball in hand’s reach to treat any accidental burns (that time, cooking was much more tedious and burning episodes were very frequent, due to fire wood cooking). She used to hold the ball against the fire for 2 min, oil used to start dripping and she used to apply this over the wound. She used to say, in this way, healing is very fast, and it acts as a coolant on burning wound as well. I have one kokum butter ball with me, which she has prepared almost 20 years back and when my kids were small, Amma has handed this wonder medicine to me by saying, keep this ball for emergency and it is still with me as a souvenir. ( Seen in below picture)

In urban dwellings, it is sold as a dried rind, dark purple, little sticky and shiny with curved edges. If you infuse these dried skins in water, it releases very nice colour. If dried skin is darker, you will get darkish pink and if it is little old and turned black, your dish will become dark and pale in colour. Taste wise it is tangy like tamarind and used exactly like tamarind in cooking to give tart taste.

If you want to prepare Rasam you need hardly 7 to 8 dried rind or if you want to add to any curry, you need very less, hardly 2 or 3 rinds according to the requirement. It is usually used, without any chopping.

Thanks for reading, I appreciate your patience. Now we will see the procedure of our traditional recipe for simple Rasam by using dried rind or kokum concentration.

Ingredients:

Dried Kokum – 7 to 8 (If you are using kokum extract or pulp, use 2 to 3 table spoons)

Onion – 1 big

Red chilli powder – 1 to 2 tea spoons

Jaggery – As needed

Salt

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 table spoon

Mustard- 1 tea spoon

Red chilli – 1

Garlic – 8 to 10

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Soak kokum in sufficient water for 1 to 2 hours.

-When you boil, add sliced onion, red chilli powder, salt, jaggery (I prefer little sweetish Rasam, so usually I add little more)

-When onion cooks, do seasoning.

-heat oil, splutter mustard, red chilli, curry leaves and add crushed garlic.

-When garlic turns brown, add this to Rasam and close the lid for 2 minutes.

-Serve hot with rice or drink as an appetizer.

 

 

Simple Bele saaru /Rasam:

This Rasam is a very good option, if one has to cook no onion and no garlic meal. Usually it is an option for us during any festivity or “No mood to cook” meal. Olden days usage of onion or garlic was a taboo in our community and our grand moms used to prepare this kind of Rasam, which we call as saaru in local language. My hubby has fond memories attached to this Rasam, which he used to relish as a small child in his grand mom’s place and he usually asks for it and calls this Rasam as Doddajji saaru (grandma’s saaru) to signify. It is a plain Rasam, with ginger and hing flavour. In our region, we see this Rasam in some of the temple meals as well. If it is ginger flavoured one, no Rasam powder will be used and Rasam will be yellow in colour, due to the addition of turmeric and dhal.

DSC_0002_Fotor

Ingredients:

Toor dal – 1 cup

Tomatoes – 3 to 4

Green chillies – 4 to 6

Hing – peanut sized

Ginger – ½ inch (slivered)

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Salt

Jaggery – ½ to 1 tea spoon

Turmeric – ½ tea spoon

Tamarind – 1 tea spoon

Coriander leaves – little (optional)

Seasoning:

Coconut oil or ghee – 1 table spoon

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Red chilli – 1

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Wash and cook toor dal in a pressure cooker, mash a little and keep aside.

-Soak tamarind, chop tomatoes, green chillies and ginger.

Ribbet collage

-Take one Rasam pot (I normally use clay pot) and take 3 to 4 cups of water, tomato, green chillies, ginger, hing, curry leaves, turmeric, salt and jaggery.

-Cook this until everything cooks properly.

-Now add toor dal and mashed soaked tamarind.

-Boil this and adjust the consistency and check for salt, ginger and green chilli. If needed adjust by adding extra.

-When it is boiled, add chopped coriander leaves.

Ribbet collage 1

-Season with oil or ghee by spluttering mustard, red chilli and curry leaves.

-Serve with hot rice .