Pappula Charu ~ Roasted Gram Rasam

Om Namah Sivaya Siddham Namah

When I tasted this Rasam at a cousin's place over the weekend, I sensed that it was not the usual rasam and inquired. I was zapped to know that it is called Pappula Charu. In the event of not having cooked Toor Dal on hand, roasted gram (Putnala Pappu) makes a fine substitute.

My cousin said they usually avoid adding tamarind in Rasam and use the tomatoes to add the 'sour' element in the rasam. I tried the same when I made this at home, but we thought adding tamarind would better suit our taste. I finally ended up adding lemon juice but still felt the lack of tamarind. Some habits die hard, don't you think? So next time I shall make sure I add the tamarind.

All in all a very good Rasam variation for Day 5 of BM 13.

Ingredients - 

Tomato Cubed 1 cup
Roasted Gram / Putnala Pappu 2 Tbsp (or as needed) 
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Salt as per taste
Sugar/Jaggery 2 tsp (or as per taste)
Rasam Powder 2 tsp
Tamarind water 1 Tbsp (or as per taste)
Water about 4 cups
Coriander leaves for garnish
Seasoning (Oil/Ghee 1 tsp, Jeera/Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp, Mustard Seeds 1/2 tsp, Curry leaves a few, Hing / Asafoetida 1/8 tsp)

Method Of Preparation - 
 

In a heated sauce pan, add oil/ghee and the rest of the seasoning ingredients. After the mustard seeds splutter, add the chopped tomato.


After the tomato is cooked, make a thin batter of roasted gram powder (I added about 2 Tbsp of roasted gram powder and 4 Tbsp of water) and water and gently add it to the cooked tomatoes while constantly stirring to avoid formation of lumps.

Add about 3-4 cups of water and turmeric, salt, rasam powder, sugar/jaggery, tamarind juice and bring the rasam to a boil.

Reduce the flame and let the flavors blend in for about 3-4 min and remove from fire. Garnish with coriander leaves. Cover with a lid until ready to serve it with steaming hot Rice.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#13.

Preparation Time 15-20 min
Makes 4 cups