Ingredients:
Cooked thuar Dhal – 5 tblsp.
(red gram dhal)
Crush coarsely:
Cumi seeds – 1 tsp
black pepper- 3/4 tsp
turmeric powder – a pinch
chopped coriander and curry leaves – 1 1/2 tbl sp.
lemon – 1 big or 2 small
water – 2 1/2 cups
powdered asafoetida – a pinch
salt, sugar – to taste

Method:
Mash the cooked dhal to a smooth consistency. Slit green chillies lengthwise. Add all the ingredients( except lemon) together and allow it to boil for a few minutes. Switch off the stove and squeeze the lemon. Heat a tsp of oil and season little mustard to that and pour on top of rasam along with asafoetida. Close with alid and keep aside for few minutes. If served with rice, mix well and serve as it is. To serve this as a soup, strain the rasam using a strainer to remove pepper and cumin and then serve.

Lemon , Lemon , Its all about Lemon!

Lemon is a citric fruit. It has so many benefits that everyone should stock it up in their kitchen.

When I was a kid, I was told Lemon should not be taken regularly. If taken, would cause cold and fever. I believed this myth and avoided the taking lemon regularly.

Some 2 months back, I was searching thru Google and came to know that Lemon is an elixir. From that day, I started using lemon in my daily diet.

I daily take one cup of lemon juice with honey. Taking lemon with honey is really good for stomach. My stomach always feel better after taking this drink.

It is better to use warm water rather than cold water.

Either fresh squeezed lemons or store bought lemon juice have the same type of benefits. So don’t worry about stocking it.

Lemon juice is very high in citric acid, which helps the body fight off colds. To prevent or relieve colds and coughs, drink lemon juice straight or mixed with honey or fruit juice.

Lemons and the juice also act as antioxidants. so make sure you start everyday with lemon juice.

Lemon juice is also a liver stimulant and can control irritable bowel syndrome. It can control conditions like constipation and diarrhea. A lemon tea will help loosen catarrh and ease digestion, and a lemon drink taken with the yolk of a raw egg is an excellent natural laxative.

It can also help in helping heart burn, some bloating and even helping in subsiding gas pains.

Lemon juice diluted with water can be very beneficial for pregnant women; it actually helps build the bones in the unborn child.

Lemon juice also has potassium, which the health benefits are that they help the brain and nerve cells.Dont forget High blood pressure people need potassium diet. They can take lemon daily without hesitant.

The lemon is also a first rate insect bite repellent, not just because of its citric and ascorbic acid content but because of the organic citrus compound azadirachtin, a potent natural insect repellent

Which is secreted by the skin of the lemon.

Believe it or not lemons also provide modest amounts of nondairy calcium

for healthy bones and teeth, magnesium, an aid in forming albumen in the blood, plus enzymes, iron, phosphorus, and copper

With the amount of magnesium it can help you treat other ailments such as asthma, colds, scurvy, fever and heartburn.

Fresh lemon juice has only 4 calories a tablespoon. so you wont get fat by taking them regularly.

To get bleaching effect, apply lemon juice on your face and neck. [sensitive skin people don’t try this]

People having sweaty body can add 1 tbsp of lemon juice in one bucket of water and use this water for bathing. your body odor will be decreased.

In hazy, hot, and humid weather, a cut lemon rubbed over face and hands is a really good skin therapy.

To get silky hair, Squeeze juice out of two big lemons, strain, and dilute with 1 cup of warm water and Comb juice through hair and rinse.

The smell of fish can linger on your hands, even after scrubbing with soap – rubbing your hands with lemon juice will neutralize the smell and leave your hands smelling wonderful.

Lemon –other benefits :

Lemon juice remove the water boilers stains and the hard stains on the floor

Half a lemon stored in your fridge will help control and eliminate unpleasant smells.

Mix 1/2 cup borax and a cup of lemon juice for a powerful toilet cleaner that will leave it smelling extra clean!

Use a half lemon to clean the lime scale off a sink or taps/faucets; rinse well.

For bleaching purposes, add 1/2 cup of lemon juice to the rinse cycle and hang clothes outside to dry.

A teaspoon of lemon juice thrown into your wash can also help your clothes to smell fresher.

A teaspoon of lemon juice added to your dishwashing detergent can help boost grease cutting power

Hot lemon juice and baking soda is a good drain cleaner that is safe to use in septic systems.

If you have a garbage disposal unit, throw in some lemon peel from time to time while it’s working in order to keep it smelling fresh.

Rub lemon juice into your wooden chopping board, leave overnight and then rinse. Wood chopping boards appear to have anti-bacterial properties anyway, but the lemon will help kill off any remaining nasties and neutralize odors.

4 tablespoons of lemon juice mixed with half a gallon of water makes an effective window cleaner

2 parts olive oil or cooking oil mixed with 1 part lemon juice makes for an excellent furniture polish!

Isn’t it incredible how we have so many environmentally harsh cleaning chemicals in our homes when nature already offers most of what we need!