Rasam Powder

Rasam is a light lentil soup eaten almost everyday in the South of India. It is almost like a staple. Eaten with plain rice, it is eaten either to start or end a meal. Many people like to drink this wonderfully spicy yet light soup-like-daal. Here is a easy powder to have on hand to make the rasam. It is also OK not to dry roast the ingredients, but the flavors do improve if you do so.

It is prepared mainly with the juices of tamarind and tomato with pepper and other spices. Lentils are added frequently and other vegetables optionally. It is eaten mixed with rice, or drunk by itself. 

In a formal meal, it follows the sambar course and is in turn followed by curd rice. It differs from sambar in that it usually relies on tomatoes for its sourness rather than tamarind, and it is usually much thinner. Rasam contains many spices which are considered beneficial to health.

1 tablespoon black peppercorn
2 tablespoons of channa daal

2 tablespoons of toor daal
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
4 to 5 whole or broken red chillies
1 teaspoon asafoetida

• Dry roast the black peppercorn, channa daal, toor daal, coriander seeds and asafoetida. When the daal is pinkish red add the red chillies.
• Roast for only a few seconds more. Dry grind this mixture.
• Use as required for the Rasam recipe.

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There are different kinds of rasam depending on the ingredients:

• Tomato rasam
• Pineapple rasam
• Meriyala (Pepper) rasam
• Jeera rasam
• Kandathippili rasam
• Neem leaf rasam
• Lime rasam
• Ginger rasam

and many more.

Today, rasam is prepared on a daily basis in most South Indian households around the world. It is said that the every rasam in every household is unique (even when the same ingredients are used) and holds the distinct character and imprint of its cook.