Gongura Green Apple Rasam-vegan, gluten free.
Rasam, is the signature South Indian mid meal dish that is creatively designed to aid in digestion, prevent bloating, speed up metabolism with abundant spices such as black pepper in it. Classic rasam has generous quantities of tamarind and tomato in it, along with coriander seeds and cumin.
Rasam is scientifically a traditional functional food, which means it as many purposes medicinally, while being a meal tradition. Refer to the article below for info regarding the health benefits of simple south Indian rasam. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5628526/
This vibrant rasam, is a lovely recipe born from the obsession for including more greens in flavorful way into daily meals. Plus, this simple yet special dish, provides an effortless opportunity to up the diversity quotient of the rasam you normally know so far. We bring in the super crisp, fresh ,slightly sour, mostly sweet green apple and add it with the tangy, fresh gongura leaves.
Gongura, an ancient plant , belonging to the hibsicus family, commonly eaten in Andhra Pradesh, India, is a plant of all seasons in India. The plant with edible green leaves with sour taste rich in Vitamin A, B- complex, calcium and Iron, also yields flowers, seeds, that are rich in antioxidants, and have medicinal uses in multiple cultures.
100g cooked gongura leaves contain 1.8 g protein, 2.1 mg iron, 321 mg potassium and 26 mg Vitamin C notably.
If you are working on improving your hemoglobin, increasing your iron levels , this green is a great tasty choice.
I tried the gongura and green apple combination previously in a chutney form, and given the memorable, lip smacking taste, the same ingredients are used to delightfully recreate the comforting rasam. If you are looking for the chutney recipe- https://myfoodbliss.com/quick-and-yummy-gongura-green-apple-chutney-with-3-ingredients-vegan/
If you are lucky to have a handful of fresh gongura flowers, incorporate them into the rasam along with leaves, after removing the hard outer calyces. Because, the flowers are abundant with anthocyanins that have varied health benefits that range from lowering blood pressure to cholesterol and being anti inflammatory.
Ready to color your rasam green and flavor it in unimaginably enjoyable flavors..? Read on.
Gongura Green apple Rasam
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 3 cups heaped- gongura leaves
- 1 green apple – cut into quarters
- 3 dry red chilies
- 2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 3 twigs curry leaves
- 1 garlic clove grated or crushed
- 1/4 cup sliced onion
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 large tomato ripe or about 10 cherry tomatoes
- 1 tsp pepper powder
- salt per taste
- 1 tsp rasam powder – recommended*
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tbsp shredded dry or fresh coconut
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- In a saute pan, add the gongura leaves and two tbsp water. Put the lid on and on low- medium heat give it 5 minutes. The leaves will wilt. Take the lid off and add them to a blender jar. Just cut the apple into quarters, add them to the blender jar. Add about 2 cups of water and make a smooth runny mixture. set this aside.
- In a soup pot, or any deep pan, on medium heat, once hot, add few tsp water (or a spray of avocado oil if using). Then, add the curry leaves, coriander seeds, red chilies , garlic clove and mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the onions, turmeric powder. Let the onions sweat before adding the tomato pieces. After 3-4 min after adding tomato pieces, add the gongura apple mixture from the blender. Add rest of the water. Mix well. After a minute, add the seasonings- salt, pepper and rasam powder. *Rasam powder is predominantly a mix of ground coriander, cumin, black pepper and red chilies. So, if you don't have rasam powder, add one tsp of coriander and cumin powders. Adjust black pepper per taste
- Let the rasam boil for 5 -7 min. Then add the dry coconut ,chopped cilantro right before turning off the stove. Serve warm with rice, or if you are up for it, drink it by spoonful.