Rasam
An intensely sour, peppery tamarind-tomato broth that clears sinuses and warms the chest — so thin it is drunk straight from a cup, yet so complex it can anchor an entire meal. Do not mistake its simplicity for ease.
Ingredients
For 4 servings · tick what is ready
Use the scaled ingredient list. Steps and temperatures stay unchanged; use a larger pan or dish if needed. Seasonings to taste stay to taste.
How to make it
Combine tamarind paste, chopped tomato, crushed black pepper, cumin, crushed garlic, salt, and water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a vigorous simmer. Cook uncovered for 15–20 minutes, pressing the tomato pieces with a spoon to help them break down. The broth should smell powerfully of pepper and tamarind.
Heat ghee in a small pan over high heat until it smokes lightly. Add mustard seeds, cover immediately, and wait for rapid popping. Add curry leaves — they will splatter in the hot fat. Stir 10 seconds, then pour directly into the rasam.
Stir the tadka into the rasam. Taste and correct: add more tamarind if it needs more sourness, more crushed pepper if it needs heat, salt if flat. The rasam should hit all four notes — sour, spicy, savory, bitter — simultaneously. Serve very hot in cups alongside rice or drink straight.
About this recipe
By ForkRecipe Kitchen · Source: ForkRecipe / FoodML and contributors. Recipe content available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Serving count is an estimate; check quantities in the source recipe.