Karasev with garlic

It is now almost a month since Deepavali.  All the snacks I made, and the ones my friends shared with us are done.  My husband still comes back home and opens the pantry door, looking for some forgotten dubba (box) of snacks in the back.

Anyway, I had the day off after a long time.  It had snowed over night and the roads were pretty slick. I did not feel like going out to run errands, so decided to make something for my husband to munch on when he came home - and in the process have a handful myself :)

On our last trip to India, my brother kept bugging my mom to get him some garlic -flavored karasev.  She either forgot to buy it, or couldn’t find it in the store, and she ended up making some for him.  He loved those so much, that she had to make another batch and send it over to Singapore.

I have made karasev before, but have never added garlic to them and decided to try it out.  They came out great!  My husband came home, and as usual, looked in the pantry and saw these.  He munched on a few  and loved them.

Only later, when he saw the thenkuzhal press on my draining board, did he realize that I had made these - he though I had bought them!

Note:  Typically, karasev is made with a special ladle.  I don’t have this, so I used one of my thenkuzhal discs to make these.

Here is what you need:

• 2 ½ cups besan (gram flour)
• 1 cup rice flour
• 2 tsp coarsely crushed pepper (I used my pepper grinder and just approximated the measurement)
• ½ - ¾ tsp. red chili powder
• ¼ tsp. hing (asafetida)
• salt to taste
• 3 tsp. ghee
• 1½ tsp. minced garlic (I used store bought)
• water to make the dough
• oil for deep frying

Here is how I made it:

1. Heat the oil for deep frying in a big kadai or deep pan.
2. In a bowl, combine besan, rice flour, pepper, chili powder, hing, and salt.  Mix well.
3. Add the ghee and garlic.  Slowly add water to make the dough.  Don’t make this too stiff because it will be difficult to press out the dough.  It needs to be a bit sticky to the touch.
4. Make a big ball of dough and put it into the thenkuzhal press with the appropriate fitting.
5. While swirling, squeeze out enough of the dough into the hot oil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook till both sides are done.  Drain on paper towel.
6. Repeat till all the dough is done.
7. Once the karasev is cool, break it up into pieces and store it in an airtight container.

Milagu Jeera Rasam (Pepper-Cumin Rasam)

We have been having such rich food the past few days because of Navrathri festival. I have been hosting parties and have been going to friends’ places for parties. On top of that we have been feasting on left-overs. I was ready to give my stomach a break! 

 My mom always used to make jeera rasam on days following big festivals and it seemed like the perfect thing for settling down our tummies.  We would have “oil baths” – where we slather sesame oil on our head and body and wash it all off with shikkakai powder – our eyes burning because of the stray powder that has somehow managed to get into them!  We will then feast on poondu rasam (made with garlic), paruppu thogayal, and urilaikizhangu curry.  What a combination!  My dad did not like garlic, so she would make the jeera rasam without the garlic for him.

She would also make this for us if we had a cold/cough or were generally feeling sick.  Some people associate this with illnesses, but it tastes so good and is really simple to make that I make it about once a month.

I also typically serve this with paruppu thogayal (a chutney made with dals) and urilaikizhangu (potato) curry.

Since the rasam does not have dal, the paruppu thogayal complements this well.

Here is what you need:

• tarmarind, the size of key lime (you can substitute 2 tsp. of readymade tamarind pulp instead)
• salt to taste
• few curry leaves
• ¼ tsp. turmeric
• ¼ tsp. hing (asafetida)

To grind to a paste:

• ½ tsp. oil
• 2 tsp. toor dal
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1 – 2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 red chili
• 1 roma tomato
• 3 cloves garlic (optional)
• few more curry leaves

For tempering:

• 1 tsp. ghee
• ½ tsp. mustard seeds
• ½ tsp. jeera

Here is how I made it:

1. Soak the tamarind in a cup or so of warm water and squeeze out the juices.  Discard the remaining pulp.
2. In a pot, bring the tamarind water, salt, curry leaves, turmeric, and hing to a boil.  Reduce heat to low.
3. Heat the oil in a small pan and roast the toor dal, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, and red chili for a couple of minutes.
4. Grind this to a paste with the tomatoes, curry leaves, and garlic (optional).
5. Add the ground paste to the simmering tamarind water.  Add more water to dilute the rasam.
6. Bring this whole thing to a boil and turn off the heat (remember not to let this boil for long)
7. Heat ghee in a small pan. Add mustard and jeera seeds.
8. When the mustard seeds sputter, turn off the heat and pour this tempering over the rasam.

Serve with rice, paruppu thogayal and urilaikizhangu curry.