Rasam (South Indian style tamarind soup)

Rasam is a tangy tamarind based soup that is usually eaten with rice and a side of vegetable. One can also have it as it is, like a soup.

Usually a South Indian three course meal comprises of sambar with rice, rasam with rice followed up yoghurt with rice. Growing up I loved sambar which is a vegetable lentil based soup. I would eat that so much that I would not usually have space left for rasam!

Over the years with Simha who LOVES rasam, I have started making it more often. Usually I either make sambar or rasam unless it is a special occasion where I end up making both.

This is NOT a traditional recipe. I have modified it to suit my demanding routine and use my kitchen appliances to make it easier for me. I make this in my Instant Pot (IP). I usually keep the lentil and rice in a “pot in a pot” method in the morning before heading to work. And then I just have to do finishing touches to the lentil after coming back if I have not already made it in the morning. While lentil and rice are being done in IP, I go ahead and make a side of vegetable to go with it. This saves me a lot of time. And your entire meal can be prepared within half hour.

You will need:

Tempering:

1 tbsp ghee/oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp hing/asafoetida

1 inch ginger chopped/grated/sliced

3-4 curry leaves

Lentils:

2/3 cup toor dal

Veggies (optional):

1 tomato chopped in big cubes

Seasonings:

1 tbsp tamarind paste

(or soak 1 tbsp of dry tamarind in hot water and drain the liquid)

1 tsp rasam powder

1/2 tsp sambar powder

1 tbsp black pepper crushed

1 tbsp cumin seeds crushed

salt per taste

Garnish:

cilantro chopped

Method:

Cooking the lentils/dal:

I usually do this in a “pot in pot method” in my IP. Add water to the base of main pot in IP. Rinse the lentils. Add water to the lentils. For 2/3 cup lentils add 3 cups water. Place the pot with lentils inside the main pot. Add the tomatoes with the dal and let it cook with it. Traditionally you would cook the tomatoes in tamarind water. It definitely gets the juicy tamarind taste inside the tomatoes then. But this is more to save time.

Also I cook rice with the dal simultaneously to save time (stacking both rice and lentils on top of each other in IP). You can check out rice recipe in my blog as well. Close the lid and set the valve to sealed position. Set the IP to manual high pressure mode for 8 minutes and let it go for natural pressure release. Once it is done, take out the pot with dal from the main pot and mash the lentils well.

Making rasam:

Discard the water in the main IP pot.

Heat ghee in IP on sauté mode. Add items for tempering in it. Add the cooked dal/tomato mixture. Add water to adjust it to more watery consistency. Add seasonings. Let it boil. Garnish with cilantro.

We usually have the rasam with rice and a side of vegetable. You can check out vendekkai curry recipe on my blog as well.

ENJOY!