One very comforting rasam with sour pomegrantes and home ground spice mix.
Place the sour pomegranate arils in a bowl and add 1 cup of hot water.
Rest this for a few minutes, until the water is warm enough to handle.
Squeeze the arils hard, in the water and extract the juice.
Discard the seeds.
To the above extract,add the turmeric powder, asafoetida powder and the salt.
Heat this mix on a low - medium heat for five minutes.
Meanwhile, wash the thuvar dhal and pressure cook until soft and mashable.
Heat one teaspoon of the ghee in a pan and roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, channa dhal, black pepper corns and the dry red chillis.
Cool and grind to a paste.
Add sufficient water to the cooked dhal and simmer on a low heat for about five minutes. Add the paste and allow that to come to a boil.Then add the pomegranate extract and simmer for few minutes.
Heat the rest of the ghee. Add the mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. Drop the slit green chillis and toss them to be coated with ghee.
Transfer this to the prepared rasam.
Garnish with curry leaves, coriander leaves and a few of the fresh arils.
Serve hot with steamed rice, or serve as a thin soup.