Tomato Rasam using Pomi Chopped Tomatoes

Recently Pomi tomatoes contacted me to try their tomatoes and post recipes using their product for my readers. I like Pomi and buy them quite often. Pomi is an all natural brand of boxed tomatoes from Italy. I love the simplicity of the product as well as it's pure ingredients. Pomi's tomatoes are grown naturally in Italy and they abide by the European standards for farming. More importantly, Pomi's ingredients contain nothing more than pure tomatoes. No added salt, water, citric acid or preservatives. The only ingredient on the label is tomatoes! Pomi is 100% all natural and because it is packaged in a box, it is BPA-free.

All that said, pomi tomatoes taste so fresh and don't have the lingering after taste of metal as in other canned tomatoes. This makes them perfect to be used in recipes that usually call for fresh tomatoes.
Rasam, is a South Indian version of tomato soup and is usually made with fresh tomatoes. I used Pomi chopped tomatoes to make this tangy, spicy and comforting rasam. This is my mom's version with no dal and it is great to sip by itself or with some steamed rice and curry.

Ingredients:

Canned chopped tomatoes - ½cup
Tamarind paste - 2tsp
Rasam powder - 2tsp
Turmeric - ¼tsp
Cilantro - 1tbsp, finely chopped
Salt - to taste

For Tempering:
Mustard seeds - ½tsp
Cumin seeds - ½tsp
Asafoetida/ Hing - ¼tsp
Dry red chili - 1, optional
Curry leaves - 6~8

Method:

• Heat 1tsp oil/ ghee in a small saucepan. Add the tempering ingredients and once the seeds start to splutter, lower the heat and add the chopped tomatoes and tamarind paste. There will be some spluttering, so be careful. 
• Cover and cook for 3~4 minutes.
• Add the rasam powder, salt and turmeric along with 1½cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and turn off the heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Linking this to Valli's 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge: June -- Week 3'.