I love rasam. The simplest meaning for rasam is juice. So mango rasam means mango juice. There's also a South Indian dish called rasam. It goes great with any type of rice or also can be eaten as soup. A well known rasam that is offered in most Indian restaurants in the US is Mulligatawny soup (made with pepper). Did you know there are 25 variations of rasam? That's a lot of rasam. I've probably tasted only about 5 in my life, which means I've still got a lot of ground to cover. I love the one I'm going to tell you about today. It's a step up from the basic rasam recipe; the additional ingredient is coconut powder.
Ingredients:
- 3 Plum tomatoes, chopped into 1" pieces
- 2 tbsp Coconut Milk Powder (or 4 tbsp of unsweetened coconut milk if coconut milk powder is not available)
- ½ tbsp Madras Rasam Powder
- ½ tbsp Salt
- 400 ml Water
Finely chopped Fresh Coriander for garnish
Ingredients for Seasoning (Taalimpu):
- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
- ½ tsp Mustard seeds
- ½ tsp Whole Cumin seeds
- A pinch of Hing (Asafoetida)
- ½ tsp Whole Cumin seeds
- A pinch of Hing (Asafoetida)
Procedure:
Dice tomatoes into cubes and grind them in a blender until sauce consistency. Transfer the sauce into a (2qt) medium saucepan and add water, rasam powder, salt, and coconut powder. (Hint: mix the coconut powder with a little bit of water so when it is mixed into the tomato sauce, it doesn't clump). Bring the rasam mixture to a boil on medium heat (approx. 7-10min). Check to see if all the coconut powder is mixed into the rasam, and no lumps are noticed. Continue to boil for another 2 minutes and remove from heat.
In a smaller saucepan (tadka pan), heat oil on low-medium heat. When you feel the heat on your palm, add mustard and cumin seeds. When they splutter, add hing. After about 1-2 minutes, remove from heat, and add directly to the rasam. Add chopped coriander and serve hot with rice or as soup with croutons.
I enjoy eating rasam on cold nights; it warms me up instantly. What is your favorite kind of rasam? Please share with us.
