Indian cuisine · Soups & Stews

Rasam

Thin, peppery-sour tamarind soup from South India – warms you up, wakes you up, and allegedly cures everything.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 3 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1 tsp black pepper (coarsely crushed)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 dried chilies
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 8 curry leaves (optional)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 bunch coriander
• Salt

Instructions

1. Roughly dice the tomatoes and simmer with tamarind, turmeric and 800 ml water for 15 min.
2. Roughly crush the tomatoes with a spoon – rasam is meant to stay thin and rustic.
3. Coarsely crush the pepper and cumin and add with the crushed garlic to the soup; season with salt and simmer for another 5 min.
4. For the tadka, let the mustard seeds, chilies and curry leaves crackle in hot oil.
5. Pour the tadka into the soup and sprinkle with coriander.
6. Drink piping hot on its own or pour over rice – the peppier, the more authentic.