Rasam

When i was a kid, lunch was mostly served by my grandmother and usually it was accompanied by a story - either one of the azhvars /nayanmars or something personal - like how my great grandmother survived those days, the description of the house they grew up in tirunelveli etc. One of my favorite stories- actually not favorite but something i used to vigorously nod my head was about this chieftain of a princely state (kurunila mannnan?) who was willing to give his head for another serving of rasam. So the story goes like this - apparently there was a feast in the kingdom and the head chef made such good rasam that people could not resist asking for more. The king apparently thought the rasam to be a 'devamirtham' and kept drinking bowls of rasam till dusk. The rasam supply started vanishing in no time and when the final ladle was left the king ordered that anybody else who asked for another bowl would get it only if he gave his head. This chieftain came forward to give his head after drinking the final bowl because he thought it was totally worth dying for good rasam. And i think I would do that too!.

You get the drift? At times when I am hungry and hence angry, i think my existence on earth is probably for rasam. Thankfully, i was brought up and later on married to a rasam loving household where sambar is given a secondary preference. We even have mean nicknames for sambar loving households. Even on days when there is absolutely nothing at home we can be assured of rasam and its existence in the eeya sombu next to the stove.Rasam - I would say has the simplest of ingredients, no hard labor or elaborate cutting of vegetables but requires a certain skill to get it right. A bowl of good rasam to drink or when simply mixed with rice does not require any other additional item for thottufying .How convenient!.

Here are my points on whether you are a rasam lover or not!.

1) For the record, sambar is not a glorified rasam just because it has more dal or vegetables. Also, this doesn't mean rasam is the poor man's version of diluted sambar. They are DIFFERENT.

2) This brings me to the second point, there IS a fine difference between the rasam podi and sambar podi. They are not the same and if you use the same podi for both it is criminal.

3) Rasam has different sub strata like soil and each has a different taste and consistency. Mixing them all with your ladle every now and then while serving is also bad practice.

4) Its OK if you call rasam the 'south indian soup' because i think it IS comfort food and rasam forms the base for most indianized soups.

5) I think the best rasams are from the tambrahm households. We do not accept store bought podis however if the source of podi is from say ambika,777 or maybe grand snacks it is acceptable but not on a regular basis.

6) I've always thought the unique taste of rasam is a combination of different things . Its not like sambar where it cannot go wrong. Rasam can go wrong - the time you let it boil, the correct quantity of podi, the consistency of your dal and how well you dilute it repeatedly to get the "chaaru". Old people may call it 'kaimanam' (literally taste of your hand?) and i tend to agree.

If you don't like rasam,maybe you have not had the perfect bowl yet. If you still think you don't like it , i only feel sorry for you!.