Makes: about 1.25 liters (Enough to be served with rice for 4 servings)

Sometimes the simple pleasures of life are the ones that give you utmost joy. This is one such thing.

The Rasam tradition began in Tamil Nadu and later spread to the other southern states like Karnataka (where it is known as “saaru”) and Andhra Pradesh (known as “chaaru”).

Rasam means essence or juice.  It is a soup-like accompaniment that is served atop hot rice mixed with ghee and cooked & mashed lentils. It is a concoction of tamarind juice (or a souring agent), spices and seasoning. All rasams have to be sour.  The basic souring agent is usually tamarind. Although Rasam made with lemon juice or tomato juice are variations.  Some varieties of Rasam like Thippili Rasam have medicinal values.

The best rasam begins with a good rasam powder. Store-bought mixes or rasam powders will NOT provide enough flavor.  Also, use vine-ripened tomatoes for this recipe since it is juicier than the plum tomatoes.  You could also use cherry tomatoes.

The perfect consistency of rasam is like that of cooking stock. It should not be thick – not even like a broth. Hence, the rasam powder is ground to a coarse consistency so it remains suspended in the rasam and doesn’t act as a starchy thickener.

Rasam is not considered a soup i.e. until the British rule happened. The English ruling the Madras Presidency needed a soup course for their meal and thus was born the Mulligatawny soup – a spin-off from the words Milagu and Thanneer (meaning: pepper and water).

Nowadays, you could find rasam sold as a beverage, in laminated pouches!!

For the Rasam powder:
Split Yellow Lentils (Toor Dal) – ¼ cup
Split Channa Dal – 1 Tablespoon
Coriander seeds – ¾ cup
Pepper – 2 Tablespoons
Cumin – 2 Tablespoons
Turmeric powder – 1 Tablespoon
Long red Chillies – 10

Toast each ingredient separately until fragrant. Both lentils should be toasted to golden brown.  Turmeric powder needs to be toasted for just 10 seconds.  Cool everything together and grind to a COARSE powder (the powder should be very grainy).  Store in an airtight glass container. This powder lasts for about a month (or even more when refrigerated).  You could make this every month, so you can prepare rasam in just under 30 minutes anytime when needed.

For the Rasam:
Tamarind – ½ oz. (15 gm – roughly the size of a cherry-tomato)
Split Yellow Lentils (Toor Dal) – 2 Tablespoons
Tomato (vine-ripened) – 2 big ones
Rasam powder – 1.5 teaspoons
Pepper & Cumin – ¼ tsp each (roughly pounded)
Water – 1 liter / quart

For Seasoning:
Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida powder – ½ teaspoon
Curry leaves – A sprig
Salt, to taste
Cilantro – 5 stems

Method:
Pressure-cook lentils with 1 cup of water.  Mash using a potato masher or the back of a ladle.  Strain using a fine mesh strainer and save the lentil water.  Discard the solids.

Soak tamarind in 1 cup of hot water for 15 minutes. Cool and squeeze out the pulp. Strain the water / tamarind extract.

Core the tomatoes. Juice 1 tomato and strain using a fine mesh strainer.  Dice the other tomato, after removing the seeds.

In a saucepan, bring tamarind extract, tomato juice, a pinch each of salt, asafoetida & turmeric powder, few curry leaves & 2 cups of water to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low-medium and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the lentil water, rasam powder, diced tomatoes, pepper-cumin powder & salt and simmer on low heat for 8 more minutes or until the rasam seems frothy.

In a small pan, prepare the seasoning:  Heat oil and when hot, add mustard seeds and wait for the seeds to splutter. Then, add the asafoetida and curry leaves, give it a quick stir and pour this seasoning over the rasam. Finish with chopped cilantro.