Mint rasam(pudina rasam)

How long it takes: 30 minutes

Number of servings: 5-6

Mint/pudina is a very popular green though not as popular as cilantro. It has medicinal as well as cosmetic properties. It is used during indigestion and also used as a mouth freshner. Somehow though growing up in Bangalore it was not at all popular at home.  I mostly saw this in restaurants in coconut chutney and Chanadal Vada. On this blog I have put up Pudina Chutney, Mint pulav and pudina flavoured fried cauliflower pakoras. This one today is Pudina rasam, very simple and tasty.

What you need to have:

1. Pudina/mint leaves – 1/2 cup

2. Red chili ( Byadgi chili – 3-4

3. Tomato -1 (medium)

4. Fresh grated coconut – 1 cup (to extract milk)

Ingredients of pudina rasam

What you do with what you have:

1. Separate the leaves from the stem and fry it in a little ghee in a skillet till it is done.

Pudina leaves being fried in ghee

2. Chop tomato and cook it in broad bowl adding 1 cup of water till done.

Tomato being cooked

3. When done, grind fried pudina leaves and red chili in the mixer adding sufficient quantity of water to a fine consistency.

Grind mixture of pudina & red chili

Ingredients of seasoning:

1. Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon

2. Asafoetida powder – 1/2 teaspoon

3. Curry leaves for taste

4. Extract coconut milk by grinding coconut in the mixer adding required quantity of water and straining it later.

Coconut milk & the ingredients of seasoning

5.  On tomato being cooked add the grind mixture from step 3 to it and bring it to boil on medium flame.

Grind mixture added to cooked tomatoes

6. Once it is boiled add coconut milk to it and bring it to boil on sim so that it does not curdle. Keep it down and add salt to it.                                                           

                                        Coconut milk being added to the dish

7. Place a spatula with 1 teaspoon cooking oil in it on low flame. On heating add mustard seeds to it. When it splutters add asafoetida powder, curry leaves and switch of the flame. Season it to the dish.                                                                                                                          

                                             Seasoning in progress

8. Season it to the dish and serve hot with rice and papad.

Ready to serve pudina rasam

Good to remember:  

1. Pudina leaves should be properly fried in ghee to get rid of the raw odour.

2. After adding coconut milk it is always better to boil on low flame and add salt later to avoid it from curdling of the dish.

3. This rasam is a good remedy for stomach upset and cold too. It can be even sipped as soup too.