Pineapple Rasam and Paatholi

I've read that pineapple is good for me. It's touted as a remedy for both osteoarthritis and amoebiasis. So I went and bought one.

Nothing usually goes to waste with me and I used the pineapple peel to make wine.

We ate a part of the ripe pineapple as fruit but a few pieces remained and I could not fob those off on my suspicious family (I share with my late Mother in Law a tendency to pursue family members around the house persuading them to finish off over ripe fruit and other leftovers).

The remaining handful or so of pineapple chunks were used to make Pineapple Rasam.

I did not follow this recipe. Here's what I did:

Pineapple rasam 

Take the amount or part of the amount required to make instant rasam. Boil the pineapple chunks in that water or pressure cook them till they're soft. If you feel so inclined you can add some finely chopped onion too at this stage.Make the instant rasam with the above water and fruit and/or onion. I used a 2 Minutes Rasam paste from indirafoods but cannot find a link to it online.When the concoction comes to a boil add some tomato if you so desire but I did not as it might have become too sour.In the case of some instant rasam mixes you might need to add tamarind. However, this can always be substituted y adding some lime juice to taste when serving.Similarly, I added chopped garlic just before serving as I'm trying to take at least 6 cloves of raw garlic to tackle my tummy problems. Raw garlic is also said to be good for both the osteoarthritis as well as for the amoebiasis. And it tastes incredibly good when added raw, crushed, to a hot clear soup.
Garnish with a little chopped fresh coriander or cilantro leaves.BTW you can grow dhania (cilantro) from the seeds. Just crush them well between your palms before tossing into the mud. My Bai says one has to trample them underfoot.

And then there was some ground Channa dal with which I had intended to make parippu vadas. Since I was not too obedient to any recipe I must have done something wrong (Possibly I let the mixture sit for too long in the fridge after grinding) and the vadas kept breaking up in the hot oil. So I used the miserable mess of failed vadas and the remaining ground Channa dal to make

Paatholi

1 cup Channa dal, soaked overnight or for a few hours and coarsely ground so that there are many large pieces1 or 2 large onions roughly slicedA couple of green chilies or less depending on your tolerance1 t finely sliced fresh ginger1 T or less or omit, cloves of garlic -leave them whole or roughly chop1 t mustard seeds1 t cumin seedsa pinch of hing1 or 2 dried red chilies broken into bits-use according to tolerance1 or 2 T oil (groundnut is what I used)Use at least that much oil if not more-the onion slices should have enough oil to saute in.

Method

Heat the oil. Splutter the mustard, add the red chili and zeera. Do not let anything burn. Add a few curry leaves at this point if you have some fresh ones.Add the sliced onions and the rest of the stuff except the dal and saute till the onions are glazed and translucent.Add the dal and stir vigorously over a moderately hot fire.Add some salt to taste and garnish with chopped coriander.Serve both the dishes with hot sticky rice (make it sticky by using new rice and cooking it in a little extra water and for longer than your normal rice cooking time), and hot ghee.A good pickle served alongside will only enhance the decadence.