Rasam (or mulligatawny)

Overview: Another classic dish courtesy of my mother. Rasam is a traditional South Indian dish, a tangy, watery spiced soup. It is served hot alongside any meal and can be savoured on its own as a soup, drink or even served with rice. Derived from the tamil words for pepper (milagu) and water (thanni), quite literally translating to pepper-water this is a terrifically simple and warming staple dish that should heat you up from the core.

Nutrition Highlights: Very low in calories. High in Vitamins A, C and K, and fibre.

Ingredients: 1 litre water, 4 large tomatoes, 1tsp tamarind paste, 1tsp pepper, 1/2tsp cumin seeds, 4 cloves of garlic, 10 curry leaves, salt, fresh coriander leaves, 1/2tsp mustard seeds, 1tsp crud dal lentils, a pinch of asafoetida, 2tbsp vegetable oil, 2 green chilli

Method: Add the water to a large bowl. Chop the tomatoes into 2cm chunks and squash these whilst adding them to the water. Add the tamarind paste to the water and mix.

Using a pestle and mortar, grind half the curry leaves, pepper and cumin seeds so that you get a rough mix. Add this mix to the tamarind and tomato water, taste and add salt as needed. Cut the two chillis lengthwise and add to the mixture.

Add the vegetable oil to a large pan and put on a medium heat. Add the asafoetida, then the urud dal lentils and finally the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the remaining curry leaves and fry for a minute. Now add the water mixture, and leave the pan to come to the boil. As soon as the mixture starts boiling, take it off the heat. Finely chop the coriander and sprinkle this over the top.

The dish is ready to serve. This is a superb dish for when you're poorly or to warm you up when it's cold, make sure you serve it piping hot so you get the best out of all its flavours!!