Lemongrass Rasam

1/4 cup cooked toor dal
dal cooked water + water

Mix cooked toor dal with dal water and water to make it 2 cups.

1 tomato, chopped
1 cup water

Boil tomato in water, allow to cool and make tomato water.

2 tbsp lemongrass chopped / crushed
1 green chili, slit
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 cups water

Add chopped / crushed lemon grass, green chili, turmeric powder, water, tomato water to a pan, bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes.

1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed

Add crushed black peppercorns. Add cooked dal and water. Pour into boiling rasam.

1 and 1/8 tsp salt

Add salt and mix well. Turn off the stove.

2 tbsp lemon juice

Add lemon juice and mix well.

To Temper

1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
asafetida

Tamper and add to the rasam.

cilantro leaves, chopped
1 kaffir lime leave, turned (optional)

Garnish with cilantro leaves and kaffir lime leaves.

Taste Note: Tastes AWESOME.
Note: It didn't taste good immediately after I made the rasam. But when the next day, it tasted heavenly, since all the essence of the lemongrass are soaked in the rasam. But very important thing about this rasam is filter this rasam before eating otherwise the lemongrass sticks will poke your mouth and you will not like that. DO NOT filter the rasam immediately after making, allow at least 1 day time for the rasam to soak all the essence from lemongrass.
Yields: 4 cups
Source: rakskitchen

Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream

Frozen Ice Bowl

Wrap the ice cream bowl with plastic food wrap and freeze the ice cream bowl for 24 hours.

Cashew Milk

1 cup cashews

Overnight soak the cashews.

1 cups water

Rinse the soaked cashews well and add 1 cup water and take out the milk.

Yields: Exactly 1 cup cashew milk
Note: After taking out the milk for the ice cream, add 3 more cup of water and blend well and take out the milk again. You can use the cashew milk where ever you use plant based milk.

Blend

1/4 cup cashews
1/8 tsp salt
12 dates
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup unsweetened cashew milk

Blend all the above. Taste the mixture, this should be little over sweet. If you think the sweetness is not enough, add more dates and blend. You do not want to blend this more after adding strawberries.

3 cups strawberries, chopped (1 pound strawberry box which you get in Whole Foods (16 oz))

Blend just enough for the strawberries to be well incorporated. Taste the mixture.

Take the frozen ice cream bowl from the freezer, remove the plastic wrap and keep inside the ice cream maker. Attach the paddle, cover with the lid, turn on the ice cream maker and pour the strawberry ice cream mixture through the opening into the ice cream maker.

You will see the ice cream will start turning thick and creamy.

After 30 more minutes, turn off the ice cream maker.

Once done, use the wooden spoon to take out the mixture into the ice cream container, cover with the air tight lid, freeze for at least 8 hours.

To Serve:

Keep the ice cream out for 30 minutes, so that you can scoop out the ice cream.

Scoop out the ice cream into a cone or a bowl.

Taste Note: Tastes GREAT. I will definitely make it again with the modifications I noted down and except it to be AWESOME. If not, I won't be making this again.

Note: I added just 8 dates and the sweetness was not enough, we could taste the sourness of strawberries. Also I added 1/4 cup of coconut oil and I was able to taste the coconut oil, which I didn't like. So made changes and noted down, expecting it to taste awesome with my modification.

Vegan Jackfruit Ice Cream

Frozen Ice Bowl

Wrap the ice cream bowl with plastic food wrap and freeze the ice cream bowl for 24 hours.

13.5 oz Coconut Milk (Native Forest Organic Simple Coconut Milk)

Keep the coconut milk in the refrigerator for 24 hours

8 ounces frozen jackfruit, thawed

1/2 cup raw honey / maple syrup / cane sugar

Blend coconut milk, frozen jackfruit, honey (or cane sugar or maple syrup) in vitamix.

Take the frozen ice cream bowl from the freezer, remove the plastic wrap and keep inside the ice cream maker. Attach the paddle, cover with the lid, turn on the ice cream maker and pour the jackfruit ice cream mixture through the opening into the ice cream maker.

You will see the ice cream will start turning thick and creamy.

1/2 cup frozen thawed jackfruit, finely chopped 4.27 ounces )

After 20 minutes, add finely chopped jackfruit into the ice cream maker.

After 10 more minutes, turn off the ice cream maker.

Once done, use the wooden spoon to take out the mixture into the ice cream container, cover with the air tight lid, freeze for at least 8 hours.

To Serve:

Keep the ice cream out for 20 minutes, so that you can scoop out the ice cream.

Scoop out the ice cream into a cone or a bowl and top it with some more  fresh chopped jackfruit.

Taste Note: Tastes AWESOME.
Note: I used honey, so what I made is not vegan. But you can use either light or amber maple syrup (do not use dark maple syrup, that will change the color of the ice cream) or cane sugar to make it vegan.

Jackfruit
calories = 125 x 2.5 = 312.5
sugar = 29 x 2.5 = 72.5 grams

Honey
calories = 70 (for 1 tbsp) x 8 = 560
sugar = 14 x 8 = 112 grams

Coconut Milk
calories = 140 x 5 = 700
total fat = 14 x 5 = 70 grams
saturated fat = 12 x 5 = 60 grams

Total calories in this ice cream = 1572.5
Total sugar = 184.5 g
total fat = 80 g
saturated fat = 60 g

This ice cream is totally organic, non-gmo and healthy ice cream. Even with the above nutritional information, I would say this ice cream is much more healthier than the store bought ice cream.

Kondakadalai Kathirikai Kaara Kuzhambu

Beans

1 cup brown channa

Overnight soak the brown channa.

1 tsp salt
3 cups water

Wash the soaked beans, cook with salt and water for 3 whistles.

Tamarind Water

1 small lemon size tamarind
1 cup water

Heat water and tamarind and make tamarind water

Coconut

1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup water

Blend coconut and water and make coconut paste.

Kuzhambu

1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 and 1/2 cup onion, chopped

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, allow it to splutter, add fenugreek seeds, sauté for few minutes, add onion, sautee for 3 minutes.

1/3 cup garlic cloves, chopped into 2 pieces (15 big garlic cloves)

Add garlic, sautee for 2 more minutes.

1 and 1/4 cup tomato, chopped (2 tomatoes)
1 and 1/2 tsp salt

Add tomato, salt, sautee till tomato softens.

2 and 1/2 cups Eggplant or zucchini (1 small Italian eggplant or 6 Indian eggplant or 2 zucchini (I used zucchini as substitute for eggplant, since there was no eggplant available or 3 small potato)

Add eggplant or zucchini, sautee for a minute.

1/2 tbsp sambar powder
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Add all the powder, mix well.

Add tamarind water, allow to cook for 10 minutes, until the raw smell goes away.

1/2 cup water

Add the coconut paste, use  1/2 cups water to wash the blender and add it, cook for 5 more minutes.

1 cup waer

Add the cooked brown channa, 1 cup water and cook for 5 minutes.

Yields: 6 cups
Taste Note: Tastes AWESOME
Source: Mom

Strawberry Rasam

Serves: 6

Rasam Powder

1 tsp oil
2 tbsp toor dal
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp whole black pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 red chilies

Heat oil in a small pan, roast toor dal, coriander seeds, whole black pepper, cumin seeds and red chili. Roast till you get a nice aroma and dal becomes golden brown. Cool and grind to a powder.

Strawberry Puree

1 and 1/4 cup strawberries, chopped
2 cup water

Add strawberries and water to blender, puree it. Let there be some chunks. I like my rasam not to have any kasadu, so I filtered it 2 times.

Rasam

1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 and 1/2 tsp salt

Add strawberry puree, turmeric powder, salt, mix well. Let it boil on medium flame.

Let the strawberry puree boil for 10 minutes, until the raw smell should go an it has to reduce a little.

2 and 1/2 cups water

Now add ground rasam powder, water, mix well. Reduce the flame to low and let it simmer. When the rasam starts frothing, switch off the stove.

Tempering

1 tsp coconut oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

asafoetida

Heat oil in a small pan, allow mustard seeds to splutter, add asafoetida, add this to the rasam.

Garnish

cilantro leaves, chopped

Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Taste Note: Tastes AWESOME
Note: It HAD super awesome pink color and strawberry flavor before adding the rasam powder. After adding the rasam powder, I could not taste the strawberry flavor and the color is changed to this muddy color. Next time, I will make this without adding the rasam powder.
Source: anubalaskitchen

Ulunthu Satham / Urad Dal Rice

Serves: 2

1/2 cup whole black urad dal until hot to touch.

Dry roast the urad dal

1 cup rice

Add rice and roast for a minute.

Soak them in water for an hour and wash them.

10 small garlic cloves, julienned into big pieces

1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp salt

3 and 1/2 cup water

Add soaked and washed rice, whole black urad dal, garlic cloves, fenugreek seeds, salt and water. Pressure cook like how you cook the rice. I left it until all the water from the whistle subsides.

Once you can open the cooker, open and leave it for sometime, do not mix immediately.

1 and 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
assafoetida
1/4 cup grated coconut

Heat oil in small pan, add cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle, add asafetida, grated coconut, sauté in low flame until coconut is lightly browned.

Add this to the rice mixture and mix gently.

Taste Note: Tastes AWESOME. I added just 1/2 tsp salt and we felt 1 tsp salt would be good. I made kale poriyal with 1 bunch of kale to eat this with, also we had mint chutney from afternoon and it tasted heaven with both of them, especially with mint chutney.
Source: padhuskitchen

Orange Rasam

Toor Dal

1/4 cup cooked and mashed toor dal

Filter the toor dal cooked water and keep it.

Add toor dal cooked water / water to the cooked and mashed toor dal and mix well and keep aside. Make sure you have 2 cups of toor dal and water mixture

Yields: 2 cups (toor dal + dal water + water)

Tomato Water

1 cup roma tomato, chopped

1 cup water

Boil tomato in water. Allow to cool, mash FILTER and take out tomato water.

Yields: 1 cup tomato water

Orange Zest

1 orange with good skin

Take out the zest from the orange.

Yields: 1 tsp orange zest

Rasam Powder

1 tsp coconut oil

1 tbsp toor dal

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp black peppercorns

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 dry red chili

Roast all the above in coconut oil, roast till the dal turns golden brown. Take this aside and allow to cool.

Grind to smooth powder.

Rasam

1 cup water

asafetida

1 and 1/4 tsp salt 

Add tomato water, orange zest, salt, asafetida, ground rasam powder, water. Allow rasam to boil.

Add cooked and mashed toor dal along with the toor dal water.

When a frothy layer starts to form on the top of the rasam, switch off the stove. Do not allow the rasam to boil.

Tempering

1 tsp coconut oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

Heat oil in a small pan, allow mustard seeds to splutter, add this to the rasam. Let the rasam cool little bit.

Orange Juice

1/4 cup orange juice (juice from 1/2 orange)

Squeeze and take orange juice from orange.

Add the orange juice to the rasam.

Garnish

cilantro leaves, chopped

Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Taste Note: Tastes AWESOME
Source: subbuskitchen

Lemon Rasam

1/4 cup cooked and mashes toor dal along with toor dal cooked water

Make dal + dal cooked water to 2 cups. If it does not come to 2 cups, add more water to make it 2 cups.

2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black pepper (I used 1/2 tsp, I think 1 tsp would be much better)
1 drey red chili / jalapeno
1 tsp ginger, chopped
1 tbsp garlic, chopped

Make coarse powder of the above without adding water.

1 tbsp coconut / sesame oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter.

1 dry red chili, broken

Add red chili and sauté till the color of the chili darken.

asafoetida
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Add ground rasam powder, turmeric, asafetida, stir well.

1 and 1/4 tsp salt
2 cups water

Add cooked dal, along with dal coked water, salt and 2 more cups of water. Stir well. Simmer the rasam in medium flame for 6 minutes.

Switch off the stove. Wait for few minutes.

1/4 cup lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)

Add lemon juice, mix well.

cilantro leaves, chopped

Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Taste Note: Tasted Wonderful when we had it immediately after making the rasam, but tasted AWESOME the next day.
Source: vegrecipesofindia