Tomato Tamarind Rasam

RecipenKitchen Recipe 50 min · Serves 4 · Indian

Why make it A thin, peppery South Indian soup of tomato, tamarind and lentil water, finished with a sizzling mustard and curry leaf tempering. Quick to make and good with rice or on its own.

You’ll need

Serves 4 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… 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 + 10 more in the full recipe

1 Step 1 of 8 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 Step 2 of 8 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 Step 3 of 8 Coarsely crush the peppercorns, cumin and garlic together in a mortar. You want a rough, uneven texture, not a paste.

4 Step 4 of 8 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 t…

5 Step 5 of 8 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. The last 3 steps are in the full recipe.

Cook’s tip Do not boil the rasam hard after adding the dal and coriander. Stop when it froths and rises; a rolling boil flattens the flavour.

Tomato Tamarind Rasam

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