Whole Lemon Rasam / Lemon Rinds in Rasam

Whole Lemon Rasam:

Lemon Rind Rasam. Lemon with its Peel Rasam. Elimicham Pazham Rasam. Neembu Ka Rasam. Neembu Chaaru. Lemon Soup it is!!

I actually use whole lemon along with its leathery skin in making Rasam. That way...all the essential oils from its skin gets into the rasam. More over....I tasted such rasam once, at Naidu mess(Bells road, Chepauk-Chennai) So after started cooking, I had hard time...making it in the same way. As the rinds are fresh and tasted very bitter all the time. Although.....when I tasted in that mess.....they just tossed 1-2 rinds for decoration(unlike me). I was trying so hard....to fix this. As you know most of the vitamins lie only close to the skin and they are both water or fat soluble. So I liked to include those rinds in food so badly. Later Ak figured a perfect method. He asked me to continue boiling the rasam over low-medium heat for long time....until the rinds get softer! Hmmmmmm....its the key! As naturally soon after the first boil...we remove the regular rasam....here we need to make it to sit for few more minutes. It wasn't that bitter after all.

Ingredients:

Lemon 3-4(large)
Garlic 6-8 cloves crushed
Dry red chilies 6-8 slitted
Curry leaves few
Salt
Turmeric powder 1/4 spoon
Rasam powder 1-2 spoons
Mustard seeds 1/2 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/2 spoon Asafoetida 1/2 spoon
Oil few spoons.

Method:

Chop lemon roughly into circles or better quarter them...as per your wish.

Heat a iron wok. Add oil....wait until its smoky hot. Then add mustard, cumin, asafoetida, dry chilies, curry leaves and garlic to it. Let it pop and splutter well.

Now add salt, turmeric powder and rasam powder to this. Fry for few minutes. Add 4-6 cups of water.

When the water starts to bubble at the sides....add lemon pieces. Let it boil really well. Its not like usual rasam....as soon as first boil removing from stove. The leathery skin of lemon should get cooked properly. It may take time!

When the lemon is fully done...remove and transfer to display bowl.

Serve warm along with plain steam cooked rice.