Rasam

My friends and I cooked dinner today. It was channa masala with rice. With us, there were some Americans who wanted to try Indian food. 

After we finished eating, we were all feeling pretty heavy from the chickpeas. I already had plans to make something once we were done, that we could store for the rest of the week when we needed a reprieve from the cafeteria. Inspiration struck and I decided to make some fresh rasam. 

You should know, I've only ever made rasam once before, and that was last week. Last week, I followed a recipe, but this week I couldn't find the same one I used last time. I decided to just trust my instincts. I set some water in a pot to boil and added some turmeric powder. I let that boil and cut up some tomatoes. Then, I added tamarind paste to the water. I let it sit for a few minutes and then added the tomatoes. I tossed in some chilli powder, rasam powder, and salt. Then I let that cook while I tempered some oil to add in. And that's that. I didn't measure anything. I just added what I thought would work, knowing I could add more if I needed to. 

I served it in tea mugs. It turned out amazing. Now, those of us who were used to rasam couldn't finish it completely. There were sediments at the bottom that we couldn't drink. However, the Americans didn't know that and they drank it all. They said it was delicious and that it made them feel lighter after drinking it. 

That made me feel so good. Like... I just tried to make it without a recipe, and it turned out well. That was all I needed to hear. It was a success!!!