“Mitta Ghallele Avale Rasam (Brine Gooseberry/ Amla/ Nellikai Rasam)” … everybody knows amla has plenty of health benefits … brine/ salt preserve is a method followed to preserve and use it all round the year … here is a healthy khatHa- meetHa- teekHa (tangy- sweet- spicy) rasam that can be sipped on as an appetizer or served steaming hot with rice (as is the practice followed in southern parts of India) … try it, tastes awesome either way, Yummilicious…
** Rasams are a delicious spicy drink that tastes awesome both when served as an appetizer or along with some rice (as is the practice followed in southern parts of India). We GSB Konkani Saraswat’s usually serve it steaming hot with rice during meals along with some other dishes and it tastes excellent. The khatHa- meetHa- teekHa (tangy- sweet- spicy) flavored rasam is sort of thili saaru meaning very thin textured one and need to be prepared exactly as mentioned in recipe for best in taste.
** There are plenty of rasam, saar, appetizer that can be prepared in various combinations and one never really tires of experimenting, at least I love to do so and each time it surpasses my expectation. There are times when I really feel that I am not doing enough justice of sharing more recipes that are preserved in my collection. Hopefully I will be doing more this year, so keep a keen watch out for more here. And please do try them out in your home and enjoy them with your family and friends, they are all easy.
** Here is my recipe for “Mitta Ghallele Avale Rasam (Brine Gooseberry/ Amla/ Nellikai Rasam)” … my style …
** Soak 3-4 Mitta ghallele (Brine/ Salt preserved) Avalo/ Gooseberry/ Amla/ Nellikai in plenty of water for about 20-30 minutes changing the water in between a few times. This procedure is a must to be followed to remove the excess salt from the brine amla otherwise the rasam will turn out too salty and lose out on taste.
** After curing Avalo/ Gooseberry/ Amla/ Nellikai gently cut them into segments by slicing them on their marking. When done so they look beautiful crescent shaped, however you can cut them into smaller pieces if desired too.
** In a pan/ kadai roast 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds), 1 tsp whole black pepper (kali miri), 2 tsp dhania (kothimbir/ coriander) seeds for a few minutes on medium heat or until you get a lovely aroma. Lastly add 1-2 dry Kashmiri red chillies (byadgi mirchi/ kumte mirsanga) and fry for a few more seconds. Remove and let cool.
** Add the roasted ingredients into a mixer grinder and grind it to coarse powder without adding any water, remove and add it into a vessel. In the same mixer grinder add 3-4 green chillies (tarni mirsanga/ hari mirchi), 1/2 inch piece of ginger (alle’/ adrak) cut to pieces and a few curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu) and grind to coarse paste without adding any water. Remove and add this also into the vessel.
** Add half of the prepared and kept amla/ avalo/ nellikai/ gooseberry pieces into the vessel and add the remaining half into mixer grinder and grind to a smooth paste adding little water. Remove and add this also to the vessel. Now add some water to the mixer and mix well with the remnants and pour this into the vessel and mix well. Add more water as required to bring it to thin saar/ rasam texture which we usually refer to as patalu saar/ rasam in Konkani, patla saar in Hindi and teeli saaru in Kannada.
** Add 1 tsp hinga uddaka (prepared hing water out of gummy asafoetida),(*reference of preparing hing water using gummy asafoetida given below) 3-4 tblsp jaggery powder (grated gud/ goda/ bella) and bring to a boil on medium heat. You can add asafoetida powder if you do not have gummy hing. Check and add salt (namak/ meeta) as we are using brine/ salt preserve amla. When it comes to a rolling boil, lower the heat and let simmer for good 15-20 minutes, this enhances the flavor.
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Heat 2 tsp of homemade ghee/ toop, when hot add 1 tsp of mustard seeds (rai/ sasam), when it begin to crackle add 10-12 fresh curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu), fry for a second and immediately pour it over the simmering rasam, mix well and remove from heat and keep it aside covered.
** Lastly add handful of picked, cleaned and finely chopped coriander leaves (kothambari pallo/ dhania). Keep the rasam covered aside for 20-30 minutes to rest to infuse the flavor, this really turns the rasam/ saar much more tastier. Before serving, bring it to a rolling boil, as rasam should always be served steaming hot for best taste.
** “Mitta Ghallele Avale Rasam (Brine Gooseberry/ Amla/ Nellikai Rasam)” is done and ready to be served. I serve this both with rice for lunch and as an appetizer during dinner time. It is your individual choice as to how you want to relish this spicy hot rasam. Whatever be your choice of savoring this delicious rasam, do try this out and enjoy with your family and friends. I served it for lunch with sheetHa (rice), bagade upkari (red bean bhaji/ stir fry) and donnemirsange bajo (capsicum bajias) and it was a delicious Sunday heartwarming meal.
** Note : Always keep prepared rasam aside covered for at least 1-2 hrs if time permits. The flavors will all get well seeped into the rasam that way and the dish becomes that much more tastier. You can adjust the spice and sweet taste to your preference by increasing or decreasing the same in quantity. However, just a note from me for all out there, this is a sweet spicy tangy rasam that tastes best when all mentioned ingredients are used in proper portions to balance taste be it spices or jaggery. So for best of taste do not cut down on jaggery as it does balance the spice level.
** Remember that Saars/Rasams should be very spicy bringing water from your eyes and nose that is what my father used to say. It loosens all the congestion in the chest, so it is important to prepare it in the right spice level. This helps in loosening of cold and keeping you safe in monsoon. However, if you have cough or throat infection, I advice you against having it spicy as red chillies may lead to more throat irritation.
** Remember amla/ gooseberry/ nellikai/ avalo is high is Vit. C, and other health benefits too. I must mention here that here I have used brined ones, however you can use fresh ones too in which case just pressure cook it to 1-2 whistles and then follow the recipe as mentioned. Having said that, do try out brine/ salt preserving them at home, they not only fall in handy during emergencies but are also healthier. I am sharing the link to method of brine below, please do check it out if necessary.
** For Preparing of Hing / Asafoetida Water From Gummy Hing : Hing water is prepared by putting a small marble sized gummy hing (available in South Indian Stores) into a glass bottle and adding about a small cup of boiled and cooled water to it. Within a few hours the hing will slowly melt and you will get a thick whitish liquid. This is hing water. You can keep this in the fridge and use sparingly as and when needed. We GSB / Saraswat Konkani people usually prepare the same and keep it in the fridge always and use the same for dal, patrado or any other humman etc. If you do not have the gummy hing, no issues, you can add hing / asafoetida powder in which case always add it into the hot oil while tempering to get a good aroma.
** Sharing a common link below for more "Saar or Rasam" recipes through which you can browse and try out those that appeal to you …
** Sharing below the link to “Method of Brine Amla/ Avalo/ Nellikai/ Gooseberry” and a common link to recipes prepared with brine/ salt preserve items, do browse through in liesure and try them in your home ….
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