Rasam/Char/South Indian Hot and Sour...soup?

Okay so basically in the South of India, they make this awesome stuff. It's spicy, it's sour, and its basically used like a daal; served over rice! You can also slurp it up like a soup! This is one of those dishes that everyone includes in their "favorite foods" list, at least every south indian. =D

I feel like everyone has a different set of ingredients they use or a different method of making this, but it always turns out basically the same. When I first started making it ((from a relative's recipe, so it is authentic!)) I had some trouble with it looking, or smelling, or tasting like Rasam/Char, but I think I'm finally getting there! So here's how I do it:


Ingredients:

1/2 bunch of cilantro/hara dhanya leaves
1 tomato
4 cloves garlic

handful of dry red chilies
handful of dhanya/coriander seeds
about 2 tbsp zeera/cumin seeds
about 2 tbsp methi/fenugreek seeds
about half a handful of curry leaves
1 heaping tbsp black peppercorns

1 small ripe tomato, diced ((optional))
1 tbsp imli/tamarind soaked in warm water ((Adjust to your preference))
salt to taste

Take the first set of ingredients and blend them to a paste/puree. Dry roast the second set of ingredients on a dry frying pan and then grind to a fine powder in a coffee grinder. ((I don't have a coffee grinder, so I used one of those small food processor/chopper thingies. It took a little while, but I did get a satisfactory masala powder.)) This masala can be stored in a ziplock or bottle for future use in sambhar or daal as well for an extra kick.

Heat oil over medium heat and add rye/mustard seeds, a couple curry leaves, and two dry red chillies, and fry for a couple minutes. When the mustard seeds start to "pop", add the tomato/cilantro/garlic puree and stir fry for a couple minutes. Add about 1 tsp of the ground masala mix. Add the chopped tomato and cook for a minute or so until they become a little mushy. Smash the cooking tomatoes a bit with the back of your spoon. Add about three or four cups of water, the soaked imli juice, and salt to taste, and bring to a boil. When is starts to boil, taste, and adjust the salt, imli, or mirchi level to your liking. Aaaaand it's done!

This is a very strong tasting dish ((gives you a bit of a KICK when you take a swig)) so it should be bursting with flavor. So you can add more masala powder or whatever you want. Also, this is supposed to the consistency of water, no thicker. When it's served, a lot of people will not mix it, but will let the bulk of it settle to the bottom and only pour the top water over their rice. I like to give it a little mix for my own plate however.