Rasam is staple food in South India. It is watery and soup consistency, but eaten with rice. Rasam tastes sour, tangy and flavorful. It is made of tamarind juice base. It can be made of tamarind juice cooked in a variety of vegetables or plain cooked tamarind with tampering, adding cooked lentils and spices.  You can make wide varieties of rasams by changing sour agent. Ranging from tamarind to tomato, raw mango. Rasam is called Chaaru in Telugu, Saaru in Karnataka. Many variations of Rasam is made in different regions.

Rasam is traditionally eaten with simply rice, or rice mixed with lentils and cooked rice, or as a gravy with  dry fry dishes. Lately, its been consumed a soup as well. Made with all natural ingredients, including sour, tangy tampered in spices. Traditionally it is made from lentil stock (the water in which dal is been boiled in) and tamarind juice. The well-known Mulligatawny soup in the Western world is actually a rasam.

In many south indian families rasam is served in every meal. In early days, rasam was just boiled tamarind water served with a pinch of salt and pepper. Latter it turned to tamarind water, tampered with spices in hot oil, giving it a mouth-watering aroma.

Tomato rasam

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Author: Ujwala Chintala

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Tomatoes - 5
• Spring onion - 2
• 2 tbsp - your favorite oil. I used coconut oil
• ¼th tsp - black mustard seeds
• ¼th tsp - cumin seeds
• 2 garlic cloves. For best results, crush peeled garlic in pestle mortar.
• 1 sprig - curry leaves
• 2 sprigs - cilantro
• ½ tsp - Fresh pepper powder
• 4 - red chillies (Adjust according to your spice level)
• ½ tsp - chilli powder (Adjust according to your spice level)
• ½ tsp - coriander powder
• 1-2 cups water
• salt

Instructions

1. In a pot or pressure cooker, add water and cook tomatoes till soft. Let them cool. Save nutritious water.
2. Meanwhile, In another pot, add oil. Heat to medium.
3. Add red chillies. Fry till dark red.
4. Add mustard seeds. When they start to splutter, add cumin. Fry till golden brown.
5. Add curry leaves, garlic, spring onion. Cook for 2 minutes.
6. Pulse cooked tomatoes till no lumps.
7. Add ground tomatoes to pot along with 1 cup water. If soup is too thick, add more water.
8. Add salt, pepper, chilli powder and coriander powder.
9. Cook 7-8 minutes. Turn off stove.
10. Serve hot with brown rice or quinoa.
11. Rasam also goes excellent with rice mixed with lentils. Also with baked, fried chicken or fish on the side.

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