What I'm eating this flu season
Hint: it's not NyQuil chicken
It’s officially flu season. I know because that’s why I’m a whole week late to get you this newsletter. Having the flu sucks. You sleep watching your life go by while reassuring yourself that you made the right decision not to get a dog.
Usually, the only time I yearn for soup is when I’m sick. It’s simple, salty, and satiating. But this time, as my body began to heal, I was craving something spicy, tangy, and aromatic. I remembered that my mother had given me a jar of rasam powder that I had tucked away in my pantry and nearly forgotten about.
Rasam (pronounced r-uh-s-uh-m) is a South Indian soup, but I liken it more to a broth. Packed with digestive spices like ginger, asafoetida, and turmeric, it’s also a digestive aid in Ayurvedic medicine. Growing up Sri Lankan, rasam was a side dish staple accompanying rice and mom’s spread of homemade curries daily. So rasam is very nostalgic for me. It’s what a chicken noodle soup is to many North Americans: comforting. And as I recently discovered, also healing.
Rasam powder
Having rasam powder on hand helps to make it in when you’re scraped for time. Like any good family recipe, no two rasam recipes are the same. This is my mom’s recipe, passed onto her by her mother. The recipe yields a few servings, but you can easily multiply it and make it in bulk.
1/2 pound coriander seeds
50g cumin seeds
25g black peppercorns
5 dried red chilies
Transfer all of the ingredients to an electric grinder and grind into a powder.
Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place until you’re ready to use.
Rasam
1 tablespoon of avocado (or any neutral) oil
3 cups of water
1/4 finely sliced red onion
2 garlic cloves
3 medium tomatoes, chopped into halves then quarters
2 tablespoons rasam powder
1 teaspoon asafoetida
Fresh coriander
Sauté onions on medium heat until they start to get golden brown.
Add in the garlic and tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes are soft to mash. Mash the tomatoes.
Add in the asafoetida, rasam powder, and 3 cups of water.
Bring to a boil, then immediately turn off the heat and temper with a few splashes of room temperature water. Overcooking the spices diminishes its flavours.
Garnish with fresh coriander and serve.
