Rasam

( South Indian Pepper Water)

Can be served with rice, or can be taken as soup.

Ingredients
Sambhar dal - 1/2 cup
Tamarind * - 10 grams
Black pepper - 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Garlic - 4 cloves
Dried red chilli - 2
Curry leaves - 4
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Chilli powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Fenugreek powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Tomatoes - 2
Vegetable oil -2 tablespoon

Preparation
1.Cook dal in water and strain it to get 'dal water'.
2.Put tamarind in 1/2 cup water for about 10 mins and strain it to get 'tamarind water'.
3.Heat oil and saute crushed garlic, black pepper and cumin seeds.
4.Add chilli, turmeric and coriander powder and saute them
5.Add the diced tomatoes and saute them. Add dal water.
6.Add the tamarind water. Allow it to boil for 5 min
7.Add salt, asafoetida powder, fenugreek powder and remove from heat.
8.Season with mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chillies


* Lemon juice (1/4 cups) can be used if tamarind is not available.