Rasam Risotto and Rosti

I have mentioned earlier in some posts about typical South Indian three course meal, with the base as rice but different accompaniments.

The second in that is a mouthwatering watery food item called rasam or saathumadhu as its called at my home. 

Rasam is prepared by boiling tamarind water with a mix of spices including pepper, cumin and corriander seeds. Its usually had with rice but we could take it on its own like a soup.

A cup of hot rasam with some white rice is sort of comfort food that can bring about a lot of nostalgia to many of us. There are different varieties of rasam too. We could add tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice or even pineapples to bring about a different flavor. 

At home we make rasam in a vessel made of tin specifically made for that purpose called eeya sombu(seen in the pic). A unique quality of eeya sombu ( tin pot) is that when placed on the stove with water inside it would withstand the heat . But if you leave it on without the water it (the vessel) would start to melt. I have done that once in fact! I left it without water on the stove and forgot about it and later what i saw on the stove were pieces of metal melting away and something resembling abstract art in the place of the pot! Leave it with the water and nothing happens!

But the vessel is supposed to impart authentic taste to the rasam and i will vouch for that! 

Risotto :

Risotto is an Italian rice recipe where rice is cooked to a creamy consistency. I vaguely recall tasting it once. Or am i am confusing it with a potato rosti which is a Swiss potato dish ?? I wonder.  No i have eaten risotto but not sure when or where. My favorite Italian food is still pasta with a creamy white sauce!

Rice comes in so many varieties. People have preferences to the texture and stickiness or graininess and that differs from region to region. TamilNadu and Kerala are neighboring rice eating states but the rice we eat have a stark difference. There is raw rice, parboiled rice, brown rice, red rice , jasmine Thai rice and even black rice!

Food for thought:

Rowthiram (anger) pazhagu (practice)

This is a famous quote from Tamil poet Subramania Bharathi. It literally translates to Familiarize with Anger! No, This is not opposing the principles of anger management or asking one to be driven by that emotion. 

What is to be inferred is when we see injustice or wrong occurences around , do not be indifferent. Be sensitive to them , be angry about them and brave enough to question or challenge.