The Rasam Powder can be made once and used multiple times. Rasam should be made fresh for one or two meals together.
- Rasam is a watery dish. (But less watery compared to golgappa paani)
- Rasam is usually a little salty to account for mixing with rice.
- Rasam is usually a little sour to account for mixing with rice.
- Rasam is usually had after a meal to aid with digestion. It’s also consumed when sick with a cough, cold, or a fever.
- You will approximately get 1 liter of rasam for 1/2 cup of Toor Dal.
But the most important thing is to adjust this to your own tastes. This can happen only by attempting a few times.
Ingredient |
Quantity |
|---|---|
| Toor Dal | 1/2 Cup |
| Tomato | 3 Average sized |
| Tamarind | Lemon sized blob |
| Curry Leaves | 4 long stalks |
| Coriander Leaves | 1/2 Bunch |
| Jeera | 1 Teaspoon |
| Mustard Seeds | 1/2 Teaspoon |
| Asafoetida (Hing) Paste (Not powder) | 1 pinch (very little) |
| Turmeric Powder | 1/4 Teaspoon |
| Salt | As required |
| Vegetable Oil | 2-3 Teaspoon |
| Garlic Cloves Medium sized (Keep the outer skin on) (Note that, it’s not the bulb) | 10 |
| Rasam Powder (Instructions for this given later) | 3 to 3.5 Teaspoons (adjust for individual taste) |
- Wash and rinse toor dal.
- Soak toor dal in fresh water in a pressure cooker with a few drops of oil and a 1/4 teaspoon of Turmeric.
- Leave the above soaked for 5 min and start the pressure cooking process until done. Keep the above aside after it’s cooked.
- Wash the 3 tomatoes. Cut each into halves and microwave for 5-6 minutes with about 2 Table spoons of water to prevent tomato getting stuck to the container.
- Wash the tamarind blob a few times. Soak it in water for a few minutes. Squeeze the tamarind pulp by hand and remove the fibres, make sure to extract the juice as much as possible. Save the pulpy water with tamarind extracts for later. Discard the fibres (may be used to remove stains on copper vessels).
- Wash the cloves of garlic and smash each with a pestle so they crack up and seem a bit smashed. This is done to release the flavour when cooking. Keep the outer layer on for this, don’t skin the cloves fully.
- Wait for the cooked tomato to cool down. Grind this in a mixer grinder for a few seconds to beat it into a pulp.
- Once the Dal is pressure cooked, open the lid and wait for it to cool. Strain the excess water into another container and save it for later.
- Put the cooked dal into a mixer grinder, sans the water, and beat it for a few turns until it turns into a consistent paste.
- Mix the strained water from Step 8, the tomato pulp from Step 7, and the Dal paste from Step 9 together in a container. Mix a portion of the tamarind water from Step 5 into this mixture (don’t mix it all, add a little, and mix more later to adjust for your taste). Tamarind brings in sourness, so add accordingly. Add about 1.5 Teaspoons of salt (adjust to your taste) to this mixture stir lightly.
- Check the thickness of the mixture from Step 10. If it is very thick, add a little bit of water (around 1/2 cup) and check again. The goal is to achieve a consistency so it is quite watery and a little thicker than Golgappa paani.
- After you get the consistency right, taste the mixture and see if you are happy with the saltiness and sourness. Add a bit more if necessary and mix.
- Keep a dry kadai on flame, add 2-3 Teaspoons of oil.
- Once heated, reduce the flame and
- add asafoetida, stir for 2 seconds,
- immediately add mustard seeds and stir for 2 seconds,
- immediately add jeera and stir for 2 seconds,
- immediately add the smashed garlic from before and stir,
- then add curry leaves into this mixture (it’s okay to add it with the stalk) and stir for a few seconds.
- Pour the watery mixture from Step 11 into the kadai from Step 14. Increase the flame on the kadai.
- Now twist and break the bunch of coriander (No need to chop) into the kadai when you notice the mixture bubbling. Bring the whole mixture to a boil with a bit of stirring.
- Now would be the right time to taste for the last time and adjust for saltiness and sourness.
- When the taste seems right and the mixture in the kadai has just started boiling, add the rasam powder into the mixture and stir. Immediately switch off the flame, do not boil the mixture with rasam powder for more than a few seconds. Taste once more and add rasam powder according to your taste.
- Once the flame is off, close a lid on the kadai, or pour the rasam into another vessel and then close a lid on it (Rasam loses flavour when left open).
- Your Rasam is ready.
Ingredient |
Quantity |
|---|---|
| Jeera | 1 Cup |
| Whole Black Pepper | 1/3 Cup |
| Dhaniya Seeds | 1/4 Cup |
| Asafoetida (Hing) Paste (Not powder) | A blob See photo attached |
| Curry Leaves | 6 Long Stalks (extract only leaves and discard the stalks) |
- Place a dry kadai over flame.
- Add 1/4 teaspoon oil.
- Add the blob of Asafoetida in the oil when the oil heats a little bit. Stir the mixture for a few seconds.
- Add the curry leaves and sauté for a while until the leaves become dry and crusty.
- Empty this mixture into a bowl and keep for later. Don’t cover this bowl to prevent formation of vapour.
- Add the Jeera into the now empty kadai (don’t add additional oil). Roast the Jeera in medium flame until it crackles and releases an aroma.
- Now empty the Jeera into the bowl with Asafoetida and curry leaves. Don’t cover this.
- Add pepper into the kadai on medium flame and wait for it to crackle and release aroma. Don’t add oil. Empty the pepper into the same bowl as above.
- Add Dhaniya seeds into the kadai on medium flame and wait for it to crackle and release the aroma. Empty the dhaniya into the same bowl as above.
- Allow the mixture in the bowl to cool down.
- Now grind this mixture in a mixer grinder until it becomes a powder.
- Let the powder completely cool down in the mixer jar before storing it in an air-tight container.
A. Showing Blob of Asafoetida for Rasam Powder. (Not for Rasam).
