Herlekai Rasam to Keep Your Immunity Strong Through the Season

The citron fruit is a powerhouse of nutrients, and this Kannadiga rasam is a wonderful way to incorporate it into your diet.

The glint in my mother’s eye is unmistakable, when we return from our weekly run to the vegetable market, with Herlekai.  It isn’t every day we chance upon the luscious yellow-green fruit. In appearance, it is somewhere between a sweet lime and lemon, and is known as citron in English and narthangai in Tamil. A part of the citrus family, and available abundantly during the monsoon months of July and August, it is a veritable powerhouse of nutrients to bolster immunity in this season. Rich in vitamin C, potassium and other essential minerals, it is also loaded with antioxidants, flavonoids, and essential oils. This makes the citron a great inclusion in the diet of people with heart-disease, those battling cancer, as well as chronic aches and pains. It is also an integral part of several pregnancy and postpartum dishes.

Food as Medicine

My grandmother would fish out pieces of salted and dried herlekai from a jar, instructing me to chew on it slowly, whenever I was down with a fever, flu or nausea. These bits of preserved citron had incredible healing power. The citron is a known immunity booster, and a panacea for all gut troubles. Its slightly bitter taste is a wonderful palate cleanser, and is known as ‘pitta-ahara’ in Ayurvedic texts, the remedy for ‘pitha dosha’ characterised by conditions of nausea, acidity and indigestion.

My mother especially adores the fruit because not only is it food as medicine, every part of the fruit lends itself to the preparation of incredible traditional fare. It is perfect to have about the house during festivities: the juice is used to make a pleasantly refreshing panaka (sherbet), and chitra-anna (flavoured rice); and the rind is used in the preparation of gojju — a sweet, tangy sauce cooked in a medley of aromatic spices, with fresh coconut. Herlekai pickle is another popular delicacy within the community.

Recipe: Kannadiga Herlekai Rasam

Ingredients
3 cups water
1 sprig curry leaves
1 sprig fresh coriander leaves
1 tsp turmeric powder
½ tbsp jaggery, powdered
¼ cup juice of citron
1 tbsp ghee
2-3 red chillies
½ tbsp ginger, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1.5 tsp pepper, freshly ground
Asafoetida, a pinch
Salt, to taste

Method
Heat the ghee in a large pan, and add in the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds, ground pepper powder, red chillies, ginger and garlic. Fry till aromatic.
Now add water, turmeric, curry leaves, and coriander and mix well.
Add jaggery, salt, asafoetida and bring to a boil.
Remove from the heat, add in the citron juice and mix well.
Serve hot with rice.

*Some recipes call for the addition of one cup of fresh coconut milk just before the rasam is brought to boil. 

Banner photo by Anisha Rachel Oommen, featuring Good Earth serveware.

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