Rasam is a staple item in most South Indian homes, but if you visit 5 different homes, you will get to experience 5 different rasam recipes – all equally delicious. Here is our take on a basic rasam recipe, one you can try with rice or as a light soup. We hope you’ll enjoy the fragrance and flavor of this comfort food.
Ingredients:
Toor Daal – 1/2 cup, washed and drained
Water – 2 cups
Water – 6 cups
Tomatoes – 2 medium, chopped
Curry Leaves – 1/2 sprig
Garlic – 3 large cloves, smashed
Green Chilies – to taste, slit
Jaggery (or sugar) – 1 Tbsp or to taste (optional)
Rasam Powder – 2 Tbsp (store bought or homemade recipe)
Salt – to taste
Turmeric Powder – 1/8 tsp
Asafoetida – 1/8 tsp
Homemade Tamarind Paste – 2 Tbsp or to taste (use less if using store bought concentrate)
Red Chili Powder – to taste
Cilantro – for garnishing
For Seasoning:
Ghee – 1 Tbsp
Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Dried Red Chilies – 1 to 2
Asafoetida – 1/8 tsp
Curry Leaves – 1/2 sprig
Garlic – 5 cloves, smashed
Method:
1. Pressure cook Toor Daal with 2 cups Water for 3 whistles and allow the pressure to release on its own.
2. In a large pot, add 6 cups Water, Tomatoes, Garlic, Curry Leaves, Green Chilies, Jaggery, Rasam Powder, Salt, Turmeric Powder and Asafoetida.
3. Boil mixture until tomatoes soften up and the quantity reduces a little.
4. Open pressure cooker and lightly mash the cooked Toor Daal with the back of a ladle.
5. Add Toor Daal to the reduced tomato mixture.
6. Add Tamarind Paste, Salt and Red Chili Powder.
7. Allow mixture to boil for 10-12 minutes.
8. For the seasoning: In a small skillet, heat Ghee and add Mustard Seeds. Allow them to pop.
9. Add Dried Red Chilies, Asafoetida, Curry Leaves and Garlic Cloves.
10. Cook for 30 seconds and pour into prepared Rasam.
11. Garnish with chopped Cilantro.
I usually find your recipes are for small amounts. I like to cook for my church (they love the food I cook using your recipes). Where can I get larger pressure cookers so I am not having to cook batches to put together for them. Also, is there a spice-grinder available that I can use. At this point, I use a coffee-grinder that is difficult to clean after each use.
Good recipe ladies. I am from Tamilnadu too and its true we have umpteen varieties of Rasam. You can add a little coriander leaves while cooking to enhance the flavor too. Don’t forget to add cumin(jeera) seeds for the seasoning. Omit the tamarind and add lemon juice after switching off the flame and it becomes lemon rasam. Another recipe is follow all the ingredients but, add half the quantity of rasam powder and grind raw toor dal, pepper, jeera and red chillies in spice grinder and add after the raw smell of rasam powder and tamarind goes and omit cooked toor dal and this is pepper-jeera rasam. This is excellent rasam for people having cold and cough.
is is posibble to send a copy of your recipes to my mail
as i would like to save them instead of printing them
thanks
I have an electronic pressure cooker. When you say to cook something under pressure for 3 whistles on your stove top cooker; what does this equate to?
Nice recipe. The only thing I’d do differently is to have the toor dal cook further and mashed down some more. I also add some rasam powder in my tadka – it really brings out the flavors of the rasam powder! Just my taste I guess 🙂
Thanks for the video. Where did you get the hing from? I generally find small bottles in Indian stores and would love to know where I can get that much quantity.
Thanks.
Hi R,
We also buy our hing from our local Indian grocery store. We have just transferred it to our own spice jar.
I prepared rasam exactly as the recipe here.it has come out truly superb and yummy and much better than I have at restaurants.The rasam powder was also prepared at home as per the powder recipe.Thanks
Thanks for the feedback Radz! Glad you enjoyed it.
One of my easiest instant rasam….
Grind in a mixie 4 -5 tomatoes, 1/2 inch ginger, 3-4 pods of garlic untill smooth. Seive this mixture. Boil with 1/2 tsp haldi, salt, jagerry and add water to adjust the consistancy. Add 2 tsp of rasam powder.boil for 5-8 minutes. Add fresh corriander and give seasoning with ghee into which a big pinch of hing, mustard seeds and jeera is added. Tear a few curry leaves and add finally.
This is nice with or without toor dal. Nice to drink too!
Serve with hot hot rice and ghee! With pappads or just plain potato fry.
Vasanti
Thanks for sharing your recipe Vasanti!
i love rasam..Hey ladies can you tell me how many litre pressure you are using in this recipe? I am trying to buy one from your website.
Hi Sandhya,
The one we are using is a 5 liter one.
Thanks dear Anuja and Hetal: I was looking forward to this recipe 🙂 you read my mind! greets from sunny California with love!
Hi I’m from tamilnadu, we usually don’t add chilly powder in rasam then it will taste similar to sambar.
My family doesn’t use any rasam powder, so we will add crused garlic with skin and pound a tsp of pepper-jeera-curry leaves and will add it at last. It is good for digestion.
I love this!!!! I has been my fav since childhood
my all time fav RASAM..love it ladies!!
My all time fav..love it ladies!!
My all time Fav..Rasam Love it Ladies!!