3 treasure Rasam / Thrikaduga rasam / Medicinal Rasam

Number 'three' always has a special place. 3 Gods (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva) and 3 Goddesses (shakti, Lakshmi, Saraswathi) are considered supreme as per hinduism.  Three steps of Lord Vishnu in vamana avatar, Three eyes of lord shiva, trisul of lord shiva and shakti, 3 charachteristics (satva, rajas, tamas gunas), 3 parts of time (past, present, future), the sacred ash worn as three lines by shiva devotees, three humors of the body (vata, pita, kapa), 3 top medicines (sukku, milagu tippili i.e. Dry gigner, Black peppercorns and Long pepper  known as tirikadugam in tamil) etc....

With the goodness of the three making my post this year a "3 Treasure Rasam". I mentioned treasure becuase the 3 of the ingridients used in this rasam has excellent medicinal power viz., Dry ginger, Black peppercorn and Long Pepper.

Dry ginger = Sukku (tamizh), Sunth (hindi)
Black peppercorn = Milagu (tamizh), Kali mirch or kali miri (in hindi)
Long pepper = Thippili (tamizh) , Pippili (hindi).

Dry ginger and black peppercorn is available in any grocery shop in India. But the Long pepper is availble mostly with the shop selling indian medicines known as 'naatu marundu kadai' or 'Jadi boothi dhukan'

Buy them and store in fridge for it to stay fresh and longer period without the worry of the insect raid. Always make the mix fresh when using in recipes for medicinal purposes. Long pepper used here is called 'arisi tippili' which is a fruit of a tree and is used for cold and respiratory diseases.. Kandathippili is root and is used to cure digestive problems.
 

This is a Rasam recipe which comes handy when one is ill. Specially during cold and flu time. Quick and easy.  I used kokam (kodampuli / kodai puli) as it is the native tamarind of our land which is very good for health at all times. The term old tamarind refers only to this and not the old stock of regular tamarind. In medicinal world the regular tamarind is called 'new tamarind' - pudu puli  (tamizh) and pazhaya puli (old tamarind) means Kokam.

Arisi tippili /

To make the rasam delicious, I am adding other regular ingredients. Lets get on to the yummy rasam making.

Ingredients  :-

1. Dry ginger - 1/4" piece
2. Black peppercorn - 10 nos
3. Long pepper - 3 to 4 Nos. 
4. Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
5. Curry leaves - 5 nos.
6. Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 tsp
7. Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp
8. Asafoetida - a pinch or less than 1/4 tsp
9. Turmeric Powder - 2 pinches
10. Kokam - 3 pieces
11. Water - 2.5 cups
12. Salt to taste
13. Jaggery shredded - 1/4 tsp
14. Ghee - 2 tsp
15. Mustar seeds - 1 tsp

Procedure :-

• Dry roast Dry ginger, Black peppercorn, Long pepper, Cumin seeds, Curry leaves, Fenugreek seeds and Coriander seeds.

• Powder the dry roasted ingredients

•  Heat  Ghee in a pot, add the mustard seeds. After it splutters add water.

• Now add the ground powder, turmeric powder, asafotida powder, kokam, salt, jaggery. 

•  Bring to boil. Lower the flame and let it boil for 2 minutes.

•  Switch off the flame.

•  Our 3 treasure Rasam is ready to be consumed as a soup or with plain hot white rice.

Generally when one is sick, always provide them with easily digestible food. The combo of dry ginger, pepper and long pepper is advised to be administered commonly for any ailment.

3 cheers!

wish you all a Prosperous, Happy and Healthy 2014.

Murungai ilai dosai / Drumstick tree leaves dosa

My Hobby Lounge's 4th century! ... to make it special made it a nutritious one.

I very much missed the green leafy veggies which I used to savour everyday at mayeka. Yesterday my visit to the Friday Market brought me so much happiness when I found the horseradish leaves (drumstick tree leaves) which is not so easily available here. Bought a nutritious bunch for Rs.5/- On my way back, was planning to do few dishes and here is today's Breakfast recipe ... A dosa (dosai) using the leaves........

Botanical Name : Moringa Oleifera

Horseradish tree (english) / Murungai (Tamizh) / Muranka (hindi) / Muranka (or) munga saudha (Hindi) / Moringi (Kannada) / Shevga (Marathi)

It is a very delicate tree. The leaves is tender hence gets cooked quickly. The leaves, the flower, the fruit are used for cooking. Bark has medicinal purpose. It helps releive the body pain. The bark is used to cure swelling etc.

It is a source of iron, Vitamin A, B, C, Magnesium, Beta carotene, high in calcium. It is very safe to give to children and nursing mothers. If included regularly, helps fight malnutrition.

There are many yummy recipes that can be prepared using the leaves, flower and the fruit (it resembles a drum stick hence the name drumstick) viz., kootu, proiyal, dosai, sambar, etc

Here is a easy dosa recipe using the leaves :-

Drumstick / Horseraddish / murungai Leaves

Ingredients :-

1. Rice - 1 cup
2. Sabudana -  tbsp (javvarisi / tapioca grain)
3. Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
4. whole urad - 2 tbsp
5. Salt to taste
6. Drumstick leaves - 1 cup

Procedure :-

• Soak all the above together for 2 hours. 

• Grind to nice paste.

•  Batter is ready. Let it ferment for 6 hours or overnight.

• Clean the leaves (discard stem), wash and drain (the leaf will float in water and will stick to fingers so do it patiently)

•  To the fermented batter, add the clean drumstick leaves, mix well. 

• Add water and keep the batter in pouring consistency 

• Heat a tava, grease it with oil, pour it around from outer edges to the centre

•  apply few drops of oil around

•  keep it covered with a lid

•  when the bottom side turns golden in colour, flip and cook the other side keeping it covered. 

• When the other side is also done, take it from the tava.

•  Yummy nutritious drumstick leaves dosa is ready 

• Just relax and relish it with sambar / chutney / gunpowder (idli milagai podi)