Hot, sweet and sour Pineapple soup

This recipe is a variation of the south Indian Rasam, that is eaten with rice. In the US, Indian restaurants often serve rasam as a light soup. It is tangy, spicy and is a great appetite-builder. The Pineapple rasam is quite often served in Tamil weddings. All you need is a medium chunk of pineapple. This will not deplete your eating supply. The only prep-work you need for this is to make the rasam spice powder. This is a great recipe if you want to make just enough spice mix for using a couple of times.

Pineapple soup/rasam

1 medium chunk pineapple, chopped into small bits (if you have the core, you can also use it for flavor)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp tamarind paste (have I convinced you enough to get tamarind paste???)
1.5 tsp rasam spice mix
1/4 cup cooked pigeon peas
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 cups water
cilantro

seasoning:
1/2 tsp ghee or oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds

Mix tamarind paste with water. Add tomatoes, spice mix, turmeric and salt. Simmer for 3 min or so. Add the pineapple bits and core now and bring to a boil. Add the cooked pigeon peas and add more water to make a thin broth. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove core of pineapple, if used.

Turn off heat and add the pepper and chopped cilantro. Splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds in ghee or oil and add to the rasam.

This soup/rasam has a lot going. It is slightly sweet, only enough to bring the tart and spicy flavors out. The pineapple remains a beautiful accent without making the soup too perfumey. Go on, try it!