Soup of spices

A classic example of traditional functional food, rasam, has all the ingredients medically proven by research to heal ailments, writes Anu Abraham

Our ancestors came up with a nutrition-rich diet to survive the changing weather and stay fit by leading a healthy lifestyle. They used locally available food depending on the region they lived in to prove that in Indian culture, we strongly believe in the role of diet in both preventing and healing any form of ailment. The celebrated soup of spices — rasam — is a popular South Indian food we all enjoy the most in India. It is a classic example of traditional functional food with all its ingredients medically proven by research to heal ailments. The dietary fibres present in rasam enable smooth bowel regularity. Vitamins like thiamine, folic acid, vitamin A, vitamin C, and niacin and minerals like calcium, iron, zinc, copper, and magnesium present in rasam make it a storehouse of all good things one can find in a dish. Rasam aids us in protecting our body from digestive issues like constipation or indigestion since it is a tamarind-based soup.

(The writer is the author of the cookbook Manna: Your Guide to Indian & Continental Cooking which is a result of her culinary journey during which she documented some of the most sought-after heritage recipes of India and elsewhere.)

Oh, the pot lucks!

Popularly called Beladingala Oota, moonlight dinner was a common feature in most families in the past. They usually held it in open yards. It not only bound the family together but also included families from the neighbourhood. The modern concept of pot luck was prevalent even then. Each family in the community prepared various food items, gathered in the open yard on a moonlit night, ate, shared, and enjoyed together. During one such gathering, kai thuthu or food served on the palm was most relished by young and old alike. My grandmother used to blend the rice, sambar, and ghee perfectly.

All of us would sit around, and she would make tiny morsels of food and place them gently on our palms. We would relish food along with the exciting stories she narrated, which would increase our appetite to such an extent that we would often overeat. We follow these traditions to date!

Pepper rasam

(Menasina Saaru)

Pepper, a wonder ingredient in our kitchen, is a treasure house of medicinal values.

Centuries ago (dates back to 2000 BC) pepper was the only spice people used in cooking. Pepper rasam is an age-old recipe usually prepared during rainy and winter seasons to ward off cold and cough.

Ingredients

Pepper: 1 tsp

Jeera: 1 tsp

Urad dal: 2 tsp

Khus Khus: 2 tsp

Ghee: 2 tsp

Milk: 1 cup

Dry copra or fresh coconut: 4 tsp

Salt to taste

For seasoning

Mustard: ½ tsp

Jeera: ½ tsp

Sprig of curry leaves

Dry chillies: 1

Method

Take 1 tsp ghee in a pan, roast pepper till it splutters. Add jeera, urad dal, khus-khus, and fry until golden brown. Switch off the stove and add coconut and fry a little. When cool, grind all the fried ingredients into a fine paste by adding water gradually. Take two cups of water in a vessel and bring it to a boil. Add the ground paste and allow it to boil. Add salt to taste. Once it begins to boil, add a glass of milk and switch off the stove. Take ghee in a pan, add mustard, jeera, curry leaves, and red chillies. Add the seasoning to the prepared pepper rasam. Serve it with rice or drink as a soup.
(Recipe courtesy Smitha Vishwanath Harihar.)

One ingredient, one recipe
This column will celebrate food and explore the possibility of forming an invisible chain that will bind us together as a family. Picking the most important ingredient of ‘love,’ we would want readers to send us a unique recipe that has either a childhood memory attached to it or, an interesting fact, or even a food philosophy they learned from their ancestors. We will hand-pick one unique recipe and publish it along with this column the following month. Please share your heritage recipe and story in 300 words with “Food Family: Love” mentioned in the subject line to [e-mail] by Aug 30.