Lemon Coriander Soup

Anyone up for some soup? This never fails to elicit a positive response even from my little girl! Folks at home are always up for some steaming hot soup... So keeping up their interest is a bit challenging and I need to keep dishing out different varieties. I rarely take photographs of such quick dishes, as I am busy with dinner preparations at the same time, but I managed to photograph this Lemon-coriander soup as I served it alongside lunch one weekend.

So here goes the bits and pieces that go into this delectable and soothing hot drink...

Ingredients:
Coriander - 12-15 stalks 
Curry leaves - 5-8 
Carrots - 2 small shredded
Green Peas - 1/4 cup (optional)

Spices:
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Thyme - 1/2 tsp
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Water - approximately 600 ml

Corn flour paste - 1 tbsp cornflour + 1 tsbp water

Juice of 2 small lemons or 1 large lemon, about 2 tablespoons.
Coriander leaves and some spring onions for garnishing 

Method:
Puree the coriander and curry leaves into a smooth paste. Boil the water and in a saucepan and add the coriander-curry leaves paste to it. Add the spices and let it come to a boil. Add the shredded carrots and green peas, if adding. Boil until the vegetables are almost cooked and the raw smell of coriander disappears. 
Add the corn-flour paste and mix quickly, so no lumps are formed. Keep boiling until the soup thickens a bit. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. 

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Verdict:
It is a breezy easy soup to prepare on a cold winter evening... urge you to try it!

Tomato Rasam

We don't use tamarind in our dishes as much as possible. This started with the requirement
for dad's diet, and I got used to it. After marriage, I realized hubby dear is not used to tamarind
at all and anything too tangy he simply refuses to eat/drink.

So we don't add tamarind for rasam either. The tanginess usually comes from a medium sized tomato.

Mom usually adds dal water and makes it taste so wonderful. I can never replicate mom's sambhar or
rasam even though we use exactly the same ingredients and follow the same procedure in the same kitchen ;).
She is just the best when it comes to south indian dishes.

When we don't make dal, then we go for slight variations with rasam. Sometimes we add a few drops
of lemon juice or puree the tomatoes.

Here is my version of tomato rasam:

Ingredients:

Tomato - 1 large or 2 medium sized

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Water - 3 cups

Tadka (tempering):

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Whole urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Cumin (Jeera) - 1/2 tsp

Red chillies - 2 (broken in half) (optional)

Curry leaves - 6-8

Oil - 1 tsp

Method:

Cut the tomatoes in 4 and add it to 1 cup of water in a pan. Bring to boil and allow for 5 minutes. Allow it to cool. Peel the tomato mash it with hands. Add the spices powder, garlic paste and remaining water and bring to a boil for a few minutes. 

Heat the oil and add the tadka items, when they start to splutter, turn off the flame. Add the tadka to the rasam and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot as soup or eat with rice and papad.

Verdict: This is a sure hit. Make this anytime on a cold day and have it as soup.