Few days back, my cousin Uma told me about a new rasam that she had made. She told me that she had seen the recipe in the net. It was a very unique rasam in which betel leaves and Amla had been used. I found it be very very interesting and the therapeutic. It has been in my ‘ to do’ list for some time now:)
Betel leaves are known as vethalai in Tamil. It has lot of health benefit. It’s generally eaten after lunch and dinner as it aids digestion. It is diuretic, relieves constipation, , helps in treating cold and it’s anti bacterial.

I decided to make it today as I thought that after yesterday’s festive food, this rasam will be really good. I called my cousin for a quick revision of the recipe.

When I started cooking, I realised that I didn’t have amla. But I wanted to use betel leaves. So, I made some changes to the recipe and did make this lovely rasam today.

The rasam came out really well. It was very, delicious, fragrant with very mild taste of the betel leaves:)

Ingredients

Tomato – 2

Betel leaves – 2

Green chilli – 1

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Grated jaggery- 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Lemon juice – 2 tsp

Chopped coriander leaves- 2 tbsp

For the spice powder

Pepper – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds ( jeera/ jeeragam) – 1/2 tsp

Tuvar dal( pigeon peas) – 2 tsps

Coriander seeds ( dhania) – 1 tsp

Red chilies -2-3

For the tempering

Ghee – 1 tsp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp

Hing ( asafoetida/ perungayam) – 2 pinches

Method

Wash and chop tomatoes, beetle leaves and green chilli.

Grind it to a smooth purée, adding 1/2 cup of water.

Add turmeric powder, 2 more cups of water, grated jaggery and salt to taste to this purée and let it boil for 10 – 12 mins.

Meanwhile, dry roast the ingredients mentioned for the spice powder.

Cool and grind to a smooth powder.

Mix this spice powder with a cup water well and add the boiling tomato purée. Mix well and check for the seasonings and consistency of the rasam ( it’s quite thin) If required add more water.

Let it simmer for few minutes mins. Do not let it boil over.

Take off the gas. Let it rest for few mins. Add the lemon juice and mix well .

Heat ghee in a pan. Add mustard. When it starts spluttering, add cumin seeds and hing. Sauté for few seconds and add the tempering to the rasam.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve the rasam hot with steamed rice drizzled with little melted ghee:)