Course: Main
Servings: 4 people
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes - 8
• Vegetable Stock - 1 litre

Lentil Mix

• Fresh coriander leaves - 1/2 bunch (use the stems too for their concentrated flavour)
• Piece of fresh ginger root - 1/2 thumb sized
• Garlic cloves - 6
• Yellow lentils - 1/2 cup
• Red chillies - 2

Tempering Mix

• Curry leaves - 8-10
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tbsp
• Vegetable oil - 3 tbsp
• Asafoetida - 2 shakes
• Mustard seeds - 1.5 tbsp
• Ground turmeric - 1 tsp
• Salt and pepper - (to taste)

Instructions:

1. Night before : soak the lentils in the veg stock.
2. Morning after: Drain the lentils but keep the stock water, we will use it later.
3. In a mixer, grind the Lentil mix, ( adding a little of the veg stock as needed , so its a thick paste like consistency). Set aside.
4. Cut the tomatoes into quarters and blitz them up ( Seed, skin, everything; you want to extract maximum flavours, while keeping it simple).
5. Add the oil and the tempering mix to a pan, turn the flame to medium and stir about till you hear the cracking of mustard seeds.
6. Add the lentil mix to the tempering mixture, stir it about and then add the blitzed up tomatoes and the rest of the veg stock. Leave to simmer over a medium-low flame for 30 mins or until the lentils are cooked. (You can add more veg stock depending how thick or thin you want your rasam).
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Boiled, sliced Shetland Black potatoes are added to the tomato rasam and served with pan fried hake and coconut chutney in the Scalloway Hotel dish prepared by Akshay.