South Indian
Rasam (Tamil Nadu Pepper-Tamarind Soup)
Rasam (Tamil Nadu Pepper-Tamarind Soup) is South Indian home cooking, eaten at lunch and dinner. On the plate it is the soup. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp tamarind pulp (soaked and strained)
- 2 tomato
- 1/2 cup cooked toor dal, mashed, or dal water
- 1.5 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
- 1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1.5 tbsp rasam powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 dried red chilies
- 15 curry leaves
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 4 cups water
- 3/4 tsp salt
How to cook it
- Simmer the tamarind pulp, tomato, turmeric, rasam powder, and water together for 10 minutes until the raw tamarind smell fades.
- Stir in the mashed dal or dal water and the crushed pepper, cumin, and garlic, and let it simmer gently for 5 minutes; do not let it come to a hard boil once the dal is in.
- Heat the oil in a small pan and let the mustard seeds pop with the dried red chilies and curry leaves.
- Pour the tempering over the rasam and add the salt, then remove from heat as soon as it turns frothy at the edges.
- Finish with cilantro and serve hot, often sipped on its own or spooned over rice.
Serve it with
A South Indian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Rasam (Tamil Nadu Pepper-Tamarind Soup), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
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The dish at the centre
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What it is eaten with
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The sharp little thing
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Something cool and fresh
A course labelled with another kitchen's name comes from a cuisine in the same family, which is where this plate usually borrows it from.
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand. Rasam (Tamil Nadu Pepper-Tamarind Soup) carries none of them. That is a checked answer rather than an ingredient list nobody read.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | No | |
| Dairy | No | |
| Gluten | No | |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | No | |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | No | |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | No |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Bands, not numbers. Dinejot does not weigh anybody's food, so it says light, moderate or hearty and stops there. This dish was read and set by hand.
- Calorie band
- Light
- Protein
- Low
- Food groups it covers
- Vegetables and Pulses
- How this was set
- Hand audited
When to cook it
Rasam (Tamil Nadu Pepper-Tamarind Soup) takes about 25 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is easy going. It is eaten at lunch and dinner. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.
Watch someone make it
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More to cook
Cooked from the same things
Other dishes built on tamarind, tomato, and black pepper.
From the same kitchens
More cooking from South India.
Does the same job on the plate
Swap any of these in when you want a meal the same shape.
Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.