Potato & Mustard Salad
Ingredients

• 2 cups potatoes, boiled and cut into 1” cubes.
• 1/2 cup yogurt, whisked until smooth.
• 1/2 cup hung curd.
• 1 tbsp ginger, finely sliced and soaked in 1/2 tbsp lime juice.
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped.
• 1 tsp salt.

Blend to a fine paste with a little water the following:

• 1 tsp whole grain mustard.
• 2 dry red chilli.
• 1/2 tsp cumin.
• 2 tbsp fresh coconut.

Method
Cut the potatoes into cubes while they are still warm. Mix in the spice paste and salt. Stir well and leave to marinate for at least 1/2 hour. Whisk the yogurt and the hung curd until smooth. Add to the potatoes along with the ginger, and coriander. Serve at room temperature.

N.B.: If the yogurt or hung curd is a little sour, add a teaspoon of honey to it while whisking.

Rasam (Soup)
Ingredients

• 1/2 kg large ripe tomatoes, peeled chopped.
• 1 tbsp tamarind pulp.
• 1/4 cup yellow split dal.
• 1 large onion, sliced.
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed.
• 8 coriander stalks.
• 3 tsp Sambhar Masala.
• 7 1/2 cups water.
• 1/4 cup coriander leaves (do not chop).
• 10 curry leaves.
• 1/4 tsp roasted black mustard seeds.
• 1/4 tsp roasted fenugreek seeds.
• 2–3 tbsp cooked rice (optional).

Method
Put all the ingredients except the dal, coriander leaves, curry roasted mustard and fenugreek into a large pan. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes to half an hour and strain through a fine sieve. Boil the dal with 1 cup water until the dal is very soft. Add the rasam water to the dal and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Season with salt if needed. Serve piping hot, garnished with the coriander leaves, curry leaves, the roasted mustard and fenugreek.

For a more substantial soup which can be a one course, quick lunch, use 1/2 cup of yellow split dal and add to the rasam water as above. In this case, you really don’t need to strain the spices out at all. Add a few tablespoons of cooked rice to the soup.