Indian: Hot Sour Soup by Recipe Cottage

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	Hot Sour Soup

		Indian hot+sour sauce/soup Vaththalkuzhambu 3/4 tsp tamarind concentrate 1 tsp salt 4 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp rice powder (fine) 4 tsp cooking Oil 1/2 tsp mustard 1/2 tsp vendhayam (fenugreek) 1 pinch hing (asafoetida) powder 1 tsp chana daal A few curry leaves (fresh or dried) 10 whole peanuts 3 tsp manath-than-gaLik-kaai and/or sun-daik-kaai Dissolve tamarind concentrate paste in 1.5 cups of water. Filter the juice to remove any dregs. Keep it away for now. Add 1 teaspoon of rice powder to 1 cups of water and blend EVENLY. Keep it away for now. Switch on you exhaust and have some ventilation (it is not needed if cooking is done right) but it never is :) - don't blame yourself for poor ventilation later. Warm sauce pan and add the cooking oil. Add in order : Mustard, Chana Daal, Vendhayam (Fenugreek), and Peanuts. If available, add Sundaikkai and/or ManaththangaLikkai vaththal. Wait till the Daal gets brown (or Mustard starts cracking) and turn stove to low heat. Add the Tamarind juice and then the Chilli powder. Add Asafoetida, cover pan and let it boil for 4-5 minutes. Add rice water, salt and then curry leaves. Mix evenly and let it simmer till it thickens to the consistency of a thick soup - about 3-5 minutes. Put the stove on medium heat if need be. The water will evaporate from the mix and the mix will thicken - don't let it burn. Keep an eye on it and turn stove off to cool when done. AppaLaams (also called Paapad) are available at all Indian grocers. AppaLaam is Sun dried rice/lentil wafer - a very tedious recipe. Roast a few appaLaams directly over a gas grill or electric stove coil. To make an even roast, keep alternating the side of the appaLaam to the flame. The appaLaam should be fully roasted and at the same time not be burnt (black). To overcome this intricate roasting, some grocers sell microwave appaLaam now. If roasting doesn't work, try deep frying the appaLaam - again, heat the oil well first and don't let the appaLaam become dark. If all else fails, get a bag of good corn / potato chips. Boil and cool 1 cup of plain rice. Add a teaspoon of edible oil or melted butter. Add vaththalkuzhambu and mix. Add more oil or butter as needed for taste. Enjoy this with appaLaam as side dish. If you prefer it NOT hot : Mix boiled and cooled rice with plain yogurt to an edible consistency. Add a pinch of salt. Eat this with 'vaththalkuzhambu' as side dish.