Rasam
A thin, sour, peppery broth. Never let it boil once the tamarind and dal water are in — it goes cloudy and dull.
- Prep
- 15m
- Cook
- 25m
- Total
- 40m
- Serves
- 4
- Effort
- Easy
Scale
Units
Method
Tap a step number to mark it done. Tap an ingredient once for got it, twice for need it.
| 2 tbsp | Soak and strain 10m | Simmer the tamarind with the spices, 8 minutes 10m | Simmer gently 10 minutes — never boil 12m | Pour the tempering over and take it off the heat as it froths 2m The moment it froths up at the edges, it is done. Boiling flattens it. | |
| 2 cups | |||||
| 1 tbsp | Crush coarsely 3m Crushed, not ground. You want visible flecks and a rougher heat. | ||||
| 1 tbsp | |||||
| 3 cloves | |||||
| 2 | |||||
| 1 tbsp | |||||
| 1 1/2 tsp | |||||
| 1 tsp | |||||
| 2 cups | |||||
| 2 tbsp | Fry until the mustard seeds pop 2m | ||||
| 1 tsp | |||||
| 1 | |||||
| a sprig | |||||
| a pinch | |||||
| a handful | |||||
-
Soak and strain
10m- tamarind pulp 2 tbsp
- hot water 2 cups
-
Crush coarsely
3m- black peppercorns 1 tbsp
- cumin seeds 1 tbsp
- garlic 3 cloves
Crushed, not ground. You want visible flecks and a rougher heat.
-
Simmer the tamarind with the spices, 8 minutes
10m- from 1 Soak and strain
- from 2 Crush coarsely
- tomatoes 2
- rasam powder (optional) 1 tbsp
- salt 1 1/2 tsp
- jaggery (optional) 1 tsp
-
Simmer gently 10 minutes — never boil
12m- from 3 Simmer the tamarind with the spices, 8 minutes
- cooked toor dal water 2 cups
-
Fry until the mustard seeds pop
2m- ghee or oil 2 tbsp
- mustard seeds 1 tsp
- dried red chilli 1
- curry leaves a sprig
- asafoetida a pinch
-
Pour the tempering over and take it off the heat as it froths
2m- from 4 Simmer gently 10 minutes — never boil
- from 5 Fry until the mustard seeds pop
- coriander leaves a handful
The moment it froths up at the edges, it is done. Boiling flattens it.
Do not boil it
Rasam’s character comes from volatile aromatics — pepper, cumin, curry leaf, coriander — which evaporate readily. A rolling boil drives them off and leaves you with sour, salty water. Bring it just to the point where it froths at the edges and take it off. This is also why the tempering goes in last.
Notes
- Crush the pepper and cumin coarsely rather than grinding fine. Rasam should have texture in its heat.
- The starchy water from cooking dal is the traditional body. Plain water works and is thinner.
- Drink it from a cup, spoon it over rice, or use it to clear a cold. All three are correct.