Scope
South Indian meals, particularly lunch, is never complete without some tangy, sour, digestives such as the moru (curd) rice and another soupy dish called rasam. Rasam means “juice”. Rasam commonly refers to soup prepared with sweet-sour stock made from either kokum or tamarind, along with tomato and lentil, added spices and garnish. The Karnataka and Andhra varieties are called saaru in Kannada and chaaru in Telugu, respectively. The spices used include chili pepper, black pepper, cumin etc.
It is eaten with rice or separately as a spicy soup and can be consumed hot or cold. Rasam has a distinct taste in comparison to the sambar due to its own seasoning ingredients. Given its usage as a regular dish in daily meals, Rasam Powder is prepared and stored in airtight containers beforehand.
Fundamental Concepts and Principles
Rasam is prepared mainly with kokum, kadampuli/kachampuli (malabar tamarind) or tamarind stock depending on the region, along with tomato stock. Lentils are optional but are used in several rasams recipes. Other ingredients used are jaggery, garlic, cumin, black pepper, chilli powder, turmeric, curry leaves, coriander as flavoring ingredients and garnish.
The below series covers pretty much the whole gamut of rasams one can savour in South Indian households.
Fundamental Concepts and Principles
Pure Water – 1½ padi
Kalavankeerai Leaves – 24 palam
Red Chilli – ? palam
Cumin Seed – 1/16 palam
Pepper – ? palam
Coriander Seed – ¼ palam
Garlic – ¼ palam
Onion – ½ palam
Salt – ? palam
Ghee – ½ palam
Mustard Seed – ¼ palam
Fenugreek Seed – ? palam
Cumin Seed – ? palam
Lemon – 2
Method
1. Boil 1½ padi water in a pot that can hold 2½ padi water. Wash kalavai keerai (greens) thoroughly and strain the water and put this in boiling water.
2. Fry separately red chillies, cumin seeds, pepper, coriander seeds, garlic and onions in ghee. Tie these ingredients in a cloth and dip it in the boiling keerai.
3. When the green leaves are cooked, strain the water into another coated vessel. Untie the masala and grind it with a little of that strained water and mix this ground paste in the strained water.
4. Add salt to this. Refer to recipe no. 22 (seasoning recipe) for seasoning and heat ghee in a pan. Add mustard seeds.
5. When it stops spluttering, add cumin seeds and fenugreek. Pour this seasoning into the rasam.
6. Squeeze two lemons and add the juice into the rasam.
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