Ingredients

For boiling

1. Drumstick leaves (100 gms approx) – 3 1/2 cups
2. Toor dal (arharr dal) – 3/4 to 1 cup
3. Water – 7 cups
4. Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
5. Oil (optional) – 1/2 tsp

Tempering / tadka

6. Oil – 2 tbsp
7. Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
8. Cumin seeds – 3/4 tsp
9. Dry chillies – 4
10. Curry leaves – 20
11. Garlic cloves (big, crushed and sliced) – 3
12. Onion (small to medium, sliced) - 1/2

Additional ingredients

13. Cumin powder – 1
14. Chilli powder – 1 tsp
15. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
16. Boiled dal and leaves – 1/2 cup
17. Tomato (big, chopped to medium size) – 1
18. Green chillies (slit/sliced) – 3
19. Tamarind - lemon size
20. Water – 2 1/2
21. Stock of dal and leaves – 4 1/2 to 5 cups
22. Salt – as per taste

Method

1. Only the leaf of drumstick we have to take not the thin sticks also, only leaf, wash it properly and keep it aside.
2. Soak tamarind in hot water for 30 minutes, allow it to cool, squeeze the pulp, with 11/2cup water for , 11/2cup tamarind water.

Boiling dal and drumstick leaves

3. Wash the dal and soak for 15 to 30minutes and drain the water.
4. Add the dal and drumstick leaves in a pressure cooker with turmeric and water. Can add little oil, to avoid froth (white segment which comes on top of dal, when it is boiled).
5. Cooking drumstick leaves and dal together takes more time sometimes.
6. Cook till dal is cooked but not very soft, mashed or get blended with drumstick leaves, it should be as a whole dal but sometimes dal becomes soft, it okay.(dal has to be as a whole not mashed type because for the porriyal dal has to be as a whole).
7. Strain the dal and drumstick leaves liquid, in a vessel, keep it aside. Stock (strained liquid) is used for the rasam and dal and drumstick leaves for the poriyal (refer recipe).
8. Keep the stock separately and the cooked dal and drumstick leaves aside. (I have used 1/2 cup of strained boiled dal and drumstick leaves and remaining for poriyal (stir fry).

Preparing rasam

9. Preheat the vessel ,add oil, when it gets warm add the tempering ingredients, first add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry chillies(broken into 2pieces each), curry leaves stir well, till it splutters ,then add garlic and onion(sliced), cook till it is light golden and transparent.
10. Add tomatoes, cook for 1minute.
11. Add the cooked dal and drumstick leaves ½ cup (remaining for the poriyal ) , mix well for 30 seconds.
12. Add immediately the tamarind water 11/2 cup and turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder and water 1/2cup, boil for 5 on medium flame.
13. Add the boiled stock, green chillies and water ½ cup more if required, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes on medium flame until the rawness of tamarind has gone.
14. Add salt and Simmer it for 10 to 12 min and switch it off, until the rasam is as per your consistency. You can see that tomatoes and green chillies are cooked well. Taste and see if any seasoning is required or not.
15. The consistency of this rasam is not watery like other rasams, as dal and leaves are there.
16. Serve it as a soup or with plain rice.

Notes

1. If using tamarind paste, add water to prepare the rasam, as I have used tamarind, squeeze its pulp in warm water 11/2 cup approx. and then add to the rasam . Add sourness according to your taste.
2. Can add spices (chilli powder, turmeric, cumin) after adding stock, mix it well and boil it.
3. My mother always add more quantity of green leaves than dal, I do both whatever I want. even you can reduce dal quantity and increase drumstick leaves quantity.
4. If you think that already more stock is left after boiling both dal and drumstick leaf, then can reduce the amount of water, while preparing stock.