Rasam

South Indian meals, particularly lunch, is never complete without some tangy, sour, digestives such as the moru (curd) rice and another soupy dish called rasam. Rasam means “juice”. Rasam commonly refers to soup prepared with sweet-sour stock made from either kokum or tamarind, along with tomato and lentil, added spices and garnish. The Karnataka and Andhra varieties are called saaru in Kannada and chaaru in Telugu, respectively. The spices used include chili pepper, black pepper, cumin etc.

It is eaten with rice or separately as a spicy soup and can be consumed hot or cold. Rasam has a distinct taste in comparison to the sambar due to its own seasoning ingredients. Given its usage as a regular dish in daily meals, Rasam Powder is prepared and stored in airtight containers beforehand.

Ingredients

Rasam is prepared mainly with kokum, kadampuli/kachampuli (malabar tamarind) or tamarind stock depending on the region, along with tomato stock. Lentils are optional but are used in several rasams recipes. Other ingredients used are jaggery, garlic, cumin, black pepper, chilli powder, turmeric, curry leaves, coriander as flavoring ingredients and garnish.

The below series covers pretty much the whole gamut of rasams one can savour in South Indian households.

Jaggery And Tamarind Rasam

Ingredients :

Pure Water – 2 padi

Tamarind – 1¼ palam

Salt – ⅝ palam

Jaggery – ½ palam

Curry Leaves – 1 palam

Ghee – 1 palam

Red Chilli – ½ palam

Mustard Seed – ¼ padi

Asafoetida – 2 ku.a

Method :

1. Dissolve tamarind in pure water and remove the seeds. Add salt and jaggery to the tamarind juice and boil it.

2. Fry curry leaves in slow fire and add it to the rasam. When the rasam boils and thickens, season it. Follow the seasoning method given in recipes no 22 (seasoning recipe).

3. Use ghee, red chillies and mustard for seasoning. Remove from fire. Dissolve asafoetida in water and pour it into the rasam.