Mochai Rasam/Avarekai Saaru

Today being the final day of the marathon, i choose Mochai or Avarekkai Rasam. This rasam is very famous in Karnataka.. I am sure you must have heard of Avarekkai saaru..In the month of April-may, averakkai becomes the 'in thing' in the veggies market! You get them as whole, or you just get the mochai ( seeds), and the skin is thrown on the roads ( the part i hate the most..grrr)..Some people believe it wards of the evil eye & some believe that it makes a good meal for the cow :)..
The variety of dishes they make using this are immense.. they use it in upma, in sambhar, as side dish for chapati..in akki roti's. My periamma makes the most amazing Mochai saathamudu and i love to just drink it! So i thought this would be a good way to end the final day of Rasam Marathon :)..I was just hoping i would find a packet of these and glad i found packet of Surti Papdi lilva in the frozen section.. Ya thats its fundu name.. so do grab a pack & enjoy this rasam for a change :)

Ingredients
1. Tamarind paste - 1 tsp
2. Water - 4 cups + 1/4 cup
3.Tomato - 1
4. Jaggery - pea size
5. Curry leaves - a sprig
6. Turmeric - a pinch
7. Hing - a pinch
8. Salt - as per taste
9. Toor dal - 2tbsp mashed
10. Mochai - 1/4 cup + 3tbsp
11.Cilantro - a sprig


To Roast & Grind
1. Dhania/coriander seeds - 1tbsp
2. Red Chillies - 4-5
3. Jeera/cumin - 1/2tsp
4. Pepper - 1/4tsp
5. Methi - 2-3
6. Mustard seeds - less than 1/8 tsp
7. Mochai - 2tbsp
8. Ghee - 1 tsp


To temper
1. Ghee - 1tsp
2. Mustard seeds - 1tsp


Preparation Time!!
1a. Pressure cook 2-3tbsp of toor dal with enough water upto 4 whistles. Remove, slightly mash and keep aside
1b. Boil Mochai in water till its cooked well. Strain the water out and keep the mochai aside
1c. In a pan, add all items from 1 to 8 mentioned in the Ingredients table and let it boil
2. Meanwhile, in another pan, add ghee & roast dhania, pepper, methi, red chillies and mustard till they turn light brown. Remove & cool
3. Once cooled, blend the roasted ingredients with 2tbsp of mochai seeds. Once ground, in the last add jeera & whip/pulse it. Keep this powder ready
4. When the raw smell of tamarind goes & tomatoes are cooked, add the remaining mochai
(1/4 cup + 3tbsp) in the rasam and let it boil for another 2-3 min
5. To this add the ground mixture and add the mashed toor dal & 1/4 cup water
6. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes & when a light froth is formed, remove off stove
7. Temper with mustard seeds and garnish with cilantro!


Serve hot with rice, ghee & subzi or just drink it as it is..& enjoy!!


Pointers
* The proportion count for the roasting the ingredients works like this..How much ever Dhania you take, take double the amount of red chillies
* Then reduce other ingredients in this proportion.. 1tsp of Jeera, pepper should be half of jeera; methi should be half of pepper & mustard should be half of methi..so keep reducing by half!


Serving : 2 people
Duration : 30-40 minutes ( Ideally 30 minutes, if multitasking :))


Its been fun, doing 7 days of Rasam, thanks to Valli :).. I doubt i would have religiously posted all these varieties which is a regular at my place.. so here's a quick re-cap
 Day 1 : Seera Rasam
 Day 2 : Lemon Rasam
 Day 3 : Kollu/Horsegram Rasam
 Day 4 : Mysore Rasam
 Day 5 : Garlic Rasam
 Day 6 : Instant/Kili Molaga Rasam
 Day 7 : Mochai Rasam


Really hope, you all love this variety as much as i did making them :D!!


Go ahead & see whats cooking in my fellow marathons kitchen Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#13