Pineapple Tomato Rasam.

"Pineapple (Avanasa / Ananas)  Tomato Rasam" ... A delicious spicy rasam prepared with pineapple fruit that gives it a very tangy~aromatic taste ... Great to be sipped on piping hot like soup / appetizer and biting into the soft pineapple chunks as it is or can be served as a side dish with mildly spiced pulav / rice items too ... Yummy Yumz .... 

** Pineapples are my favorite and I never tire of relishing it in any form. During winter they are available in plenty though they are available all round the year too, but winter is the time of bumper crop. I try all my experimental dishes I want to do with pineapple during this time and make maximum use of it. 

** Slice off the outer thick thorny skin of the pineapples and its crown. The inner layer has dots like inedible thorny things which we call as eyes, they too should be remove as you begin to cut the pineapple. The innermost part / core is also not edible to eat but can be prepared into juice form. so the core part you can keep aside and add on while preparing the juice and discard the rest. Cut the edible portion into medium sized pieces and keep them ready. We need about 2 cups of the fruits for this recipe.  

** Note : It is difficult to cut pineapple and you need a sharp knife for the same. In Mumbai we buy them from fruit vendors who prepare the same and give us all ready. It is best to get done from them if the facility is available in your home time or at least watch them do it carefully. You can also use any You tube channel for observing the same too. 

** Wash one cup of masoor dal well and put it in a pressure cooker pan with 2 cups of water and pressure cook to 3 whistles. Let the pressure fall on its own, then open the lid and mash the cooked dal well to an evenly ground paste. There should be no lumps.

** Note : I have used masoor dal ie split red lentils, you can use moong dal or tuvar dal too. 

** Add the mashed dal into a thick bottomed stainless steel vessel and add in the chopped pineapple, say about 3 cups to it, with about 2-3 cups of water and mix well. Bring to a boil on medium heat and once it comes to boil lower the heat to minimum.

** For Tempering : Heat 2 tblsp of oil + 1 tblsp of ghee in a small pan, when smoking hot, lower the heat to minimum and add in ½ tsp of mustard seeds ( rai/sasam), when they begin to splutter add in ½ tsp of jeera (cumin seeds) and then add in 10-12 fresh curry leaves (kadipatta/karbevu), pinch of haldi (turmeric) powder, 1 tsp hing (asafoetida) powder and finally 2 tblsp of sambar / rasam powder.

** Fry the above masala nicely for a minute, if you feel the powder is getting burnt sprinkle some water. Now pour this into the simmering dal – pineapple rasam and mix well. Now add in 1 finely chopped tomato, salt to taste and simmer all together for a good 15-20 minutes. Lastly garnish with a handful of finely chopped coriander leaves.

** "Pineapple (Avanasa / Ananas)  Tomato Rasam" is done and ready to be served. Serve this spicy delicious rasam as a soup / appetizer for dinner or along with other dishes as a side dish like pulav, spiced rice dishes, etc.. Tastes awesome as it is when sipped hot and the the pineapple bites also taste great to be relished with a spoon.

** Do try this delicious rasam and enjoy with your family and friends. You can increase or decrease the amount of spice level ie addition of sambar powder depending upon your family taste. Same applies to hing powder too, as some do not like strong hing flavors.