Indian Recipes
Rasam
A thin, peppery South Indian broth of tomato and tamarind with garlic and cumin, finished with a mustard-seed and curry-leaf tempering. Drink it as a soup or pour it over rice.
- Serves 4
- Prep 10 min
- Cook 30 min
- Indian
Method
If using the lentils, simmer them in 300 ml of the water for 15–20 minutes until very soft, then whisk to a smooth purée.
Coarsely crush the peppercorns, cumin seeds and garlic together in a pestle and mortar.
Put the tomatoes in a saucepan with the remaining water, the tamarind, turmeric, the crushed pepper mixture and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes until the tomatoes are soft; squash them against the side of the pan.
Stir in the lentil purée (if using) and the jaggery. Bring just to a froth and turn off the heat as soon as it rises; rasam should not boil hard once finished. Stir in the coriander.
Heat the ghee in a small pan, add the mustard seeds and, when they pop, the dried chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. Pour the sizzling tempering into the rasam, cover for 2 minutes to infuse, then serve hot, as a soup or poured over rice.
Tip: tap a step to tick it off as you cook.
Chef’s notes
- If you have Rasam Powder (see our recipe), add 1½ teaspoons with the tomatoes in place of the crushed pepper and cumin.
- Rasam is meant to be thin and tangy; do not over-thicken it.
How this recipe was developed
The old Cookeryonline page reproduced a published recipe, so we wrote a new one. We followed the everyday tomato rasam of South Indian home cooks, made with freshly crushed pepper and cumin so it does not need a special spice powder.
- No rasam powder needed. Swasthi Shreekanth’s hotel-style rasam needs no rasam powder and no dal: freshly ground cumin and black pepper flavour it, with garlic.
- Sour, sweet and hot. She balances tamarind and tomato with jaggery and simmers only briefly; we do the same.
- Tempering. Mustard seeds, dried chilli, curry leaves and asafoetida are her tempering; we pour it over at the end rather than starting with it, and add a little red lentil for body (optional).
Sources we compared (ratings as shown on each site on 31 October 2026):
This is an original Cookeryonline recipe written in our own words. Ingredient choices and techniques are credited above; no source text has been copied.