Rasam

What to Put on the Table With Rasam

• Steamed rice and ghee
• Papad
• A simple vegetable poriyal

How to Cook Rasam

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1. Dissolve the tamarind paste in the hot water and set aside.

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2. Pound the peppercorns, cumin and garlic to a coarse paste in a mortar.

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3. Squash the tomatoes with your hands into a pan.

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4. Add the tamarind water, turmeric and salt and simmer 10 minutes, until the raw tamarind smell has gone.

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5. Stir in the pounded pepper and cumin paste and cook 4 minutes.

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6. Watch for a froth rising up the sides of the pan, then take it off the heat at once. Do not let it boil.

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7. Heat the oil in a small pan and pop the mustard seeds for 30 seconds.

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8. Add the chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida and fry 15 seconds.

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9. Pour the tempering over the rasam and cover for 2 minutes.

   Mark done Start 2 min timer

10. Stir in the coriander and serve hot, in cups or over rice.

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Worth Knowing Before You Cook

Never boil it after the tamarind goes in.

Pound the pepper for this pot; ready-ground tastes flat.

Thin enough to drink is correct.

Changing the Recipe

• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the red chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Storing and Reheating

Keeps 3 days refrigerated. Reheat without boiling.

What's in a Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.