Jeere Meere Saaru

Jeere-meere saaru is the go-to meal in our house for someone recovering from common cold or digestive issues. For the uninitiated, 'jeera' is cumin and 'meera' is pepper. The wonderful digestive and decongestant properties of cumin and black pepper are used to the hilt in this simple but flavourful recipe.

My son loves this saaru (we call 'rasam' as 'saar' and eventually it morphed into 'saaru' in our house) and often asks me to make it. Hot jeere-meere saaru with rice and ghee is perfect for a light weeknight meal paired with any stir fried vegetable or papads. It can also be had just as a soup to warm up your wintry nights.

Without much ado, here is the recipe for Jeere Meere Saaru (for 2 servings):

Ingredients:

Water - 2.5 cups (can increase or decrease the quantity of water to adjust the consistency to your liking)

Jeere (cumin seeds) - 1 tbs

Meere (black pepper) - 1 to 1.5 tsp

Dried red chilli (byadgi chilli) - 1-2 in number. (optional)

Chana dal/toor dal - 2 to 2.5 tbs

One small lemon-sized tamarind ball soaked in little water - strain the thick pulp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Jaggery powder - 1 tsp (optional)

Salt- to taste

For tempering:

Ghee/oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Fresh Curry leaves - 5-6 in number

Hing (asafoetida) - a generous pinch

Garnish:

Coriander leaves and delicate stems - finely chopped

Method:

Dry roast cumin, red chilli and chana dal separately in a pan till they become fragrant and change colour. Allow it to cool and grind it along with black pepper into a fine powder. (Note: I am not roasting black pepper corns)

Next, take water in a deep bottomed vessel or kadhai. Allow it come to a boil. Add the freshly made powder to it. First mix in half the tamarind pulp and the finely chopped stems of coriander leaves. Add salt and let it boil for 2-3 minutes. Check for sourness and can add more of tamarind pulp if needed.

Meanwhile, prepare the tempering using ghee and pour it into the boiling saaru just before switching off the heat.

Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve hot.