Tomato Tamarind Rasam

Ingredients

• 40 g toor dal (arhar), rinsed
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric, for cooking the dal
• 20 g tamarind pulp or a lime-sized ball of tamarind, soaked in 200 ml warm water
• 3 medium ripe tomatoes (about 300 g), roughly chopped
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
• 2 tsp cumin seeds, coarsely crushed
• 4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 1 green chilli, slit lengthwise
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 1½ tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp jaggery or brown sugar
• 600 ml water, for the rasam
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 tbsp sesame or vegetable oil, for the tempering
• 1 tsp black or brown mustard seeds
• 2 dried red chillies, broken in half
• 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
• 12 fresh curry leaves

Instructions

1. Put the rinsed dal in a pressure cooker with 350 ml water and 0.25 tsp turmeric. Cook for 3 whistles, then let the pressure release on its own. The dal should be completely soft and collapse when pressed.
2. While the dal cooks, squeeze the soaked tamarind in its water with your fingers until the pulp dissolves. Strain into a bowl and discard the fibres and seeds.
3. Coarsely crush the peppercorns, cumin and garlic together in a mortar. You want a rough, uneven texture, not a paste.
4. In a saucepan, combine the tamarind water, tomatoes, crushed spice mixture, green chilli, 0.5 tsp turmeric, salt, jaggery and 600 ml water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the tomatoes are soft and the raw tamarind smell is gone.
5. Mash the tomatoes in the pan with the back of a ladle. Whisk the cooked dal until smooth, then stir 4 to 5 tbsp of it into the rasam. Keep the rest of the dal for another meal or add more if you like a thicker soup.
6. Heat gently until the rasam turns frothy at the edges and just begins to rise. Take it off the heat before it boils hard, which dulls the flavour. Stir in the coriander.
7. For the tempering, heat the oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and wait for them to crackle, then add the dried chillies, asafoetida and curry leaves. Cook for about 20 seconds until the leaves are crisp and the chillies darken slightly.
8. Pour the hot tempering straight into the rasam, cover for 2 minutes so the aroma settles, then taste and adjust salt, pepper or jaggery. Serve hot.

Tips

• Do not boil the rasam hard after adding the dal and coriander. Stop when it froths and rises; a rolling boil flattens the flavour.
• Crush the pepper, cumin and garlic just before cooking. Freshly crushed spices give the sharpest flavour.
• Rasam should be thin and sharp. If it tastes too sour, add a little more jaggery or water; if flat, add pepper or a squeeze of lemon at the end.
• Use ripe, soft tomatoes for a rounder taste. Very firm tomatoes make the soup taste thin and acidic.