Paruppu rasam, also known as dal rasam, a south-indian style soup, made with tamarind extract, tomatoes and finished with a topping of dal water
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Rasam, an emotion😉
Rasam is a quintessential part of South-Indian Cuisine. It literally means juice. It is commonly made of tamarind, tomatoes, and basic spices like cumin and pepper. An elaborate South-indian lunch menu is incomplete without rasam.
Rasam is an everyday menu at home, we are fine without sambar, but rasam is a must. My lil one survives because of rasam. Ask him his favorite food, he would jump and say Tomato rasam . Jeera rasam too can be found in my Lunch thali almost every week. To make something everyday, there must be some varieties, right? There are so many varieties of rasam, your imagination is the limit.
Spice Powder for Rasam
When it comes to rasam, every family has their own recipe. I normally use my mom’s kootu podi to flavor my rasam. Whereas my In-laws place they have separate rasam powder. I know many, who use sambar powder to make rasam . Wondering how? check this tomato rasam by sandhya. This difference is what make rasam very special, they all taste different and unique to that family.
Today’s Lunch Thali
Today’s south-indian lunch is a typical Tamil brahmin lunch with rasam, curry and kootu. It took 45 minutes for me to make this thali today. Kootu was made in the pressure cooker along with the dal (PIP method) for rasam. Broccoli stir-fry and rasam were done simultaneously, and rice was done in the pressure cooker.
- Broccoli & coconut stir-fry
- Malabar vellari/Indian yellow cucumber & Chickpeas Kootu
- Paruppu rasam/Dal rasam
- Rice
- Buttermilk
- Kothamalli/Coriander Thogayal
Cooking is pretty easy, when you plan well. If you are someone who stares at the fridge or at the wall in the kitchen, thinking what to make, then you should check these Meal plan ideas to make better use of your time.
The Ingredients
- Tuvar dal/split pigeon peas, hero of the paruppu rasam recipe.
- Tamarind, I use dried tamarind, Datar or 777 brand. If using tamarind paste or extract, use accordingly.
- Tomatoes, needless to say, well ripened tomatoes.
- Spices, for this paruppu rasam, i have used freshly pounded coriander, cumin and pepper along with green chili.
- Tempering, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing and curry leaves, the must needed ingredients for the Indian tadka.
Step by Step Instructions to make Dal Rasam
Please check recipe card below for exact measurements of each ingredient used and also for the detailed instructions
- Wash and pressure cook tuvar dal/split pigeon peas with enough water and turmeric powder.
- While the dal is cooking, soak tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes. Extract around 3.5 – 4 cups of tamarind water.
- Take the tamarind water, add chopped tomatoes, green chili, turmeric powder, rasam powder, hing and curry leaves in a vessel and let this come to a boil.
- Reduce the flame to medium and let this cook for 10 minutes, to this now add cooked and mashed dal along with a cup of water.
- Reduce the flame to simmer and let it froth. Turn off the heat. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and add a tempering of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and red chilies and pour over the rasam.
- Enjoy it with rice or as such as a soup.
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More Rasam Varieties
Recipe
Paruppu Rasam | How to make Paruppu Rasam | South Indian Lunch #5
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup tuvar dal/split pigeon peas
- 16 grams dried tamarind or lime size strings and seeds removed
- 1 no large tomato
- 1 no green chili
- ¼ teaspoon hing/asafoetida
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- a small piece of ginger optional
- few curry leaves
- fresh coriander leaves for garnish
Spice powder | To Pound
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¾ teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Tempering
- 1 teaspoon oil/ghee
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 no red chili optional
- ¼ teaspoon freshly pounded pepper powder optional
Instructions
- Wash the dal, take it in a vessel add twice the amount of water, a pinch of turmeric and pressure cook it until soft.
- While the dal is cooking, soak tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes. This can be done overnight also. I do it sometimes to ease cooking in the morning. Extract tamarind water. Add extra water to this and bring it to 3.5 – 4 cups of tamarind water.
- Take the extracted tamarind water in a heavy bottom sauce pan. Add chopped tomatoes, curry leaves, green chili and hing to this. Let this start to cook.
- Take the spicesm given under "To pound' in a mortar-pestle or in a spice grinder and make a coarse powder. You can alternatively use your rasam powder also.
- Add the spice powder, salt and turmeric powder to this tamarind-tomato mix and let this come to a boil. Reduce the flame and let it cook for 10-12 minutes.
- By this time the rawness of the spice powder would have vanished and you will start smelling the divine aroma of rasam.
- By this time, the pressure cooker would have released, remove the cooked dal, mash it well. You might not need the entire dal for the rasam, remove 2-3 tablespoon of cooked dal to another bowl. Mash the rest and add it to the boiling rasam, add ½ cup water, check consistency, if too thick add another ½ cup of water.
- Simmer the flame and let this sit for another 5-8 minutes until it froths beautifully. Keep the flame low, or else it will start to boil. To this now add some pounded ginger and fresh coriander leaves. Take it off the heat.
- In a tadka pan, heat oil splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chili, finally add pepper powder to this. Pour the sizzling tadka over the hot rasam. Keep it covered for 10 minutes.
- Serve this flavorsome paruppu rasam with rice and ghee for a warm and comforting meal.
- The rasam can be left on the kitchen counter covered for 5-6 hours. Any leftovers can be refrigerated for 2 days.
Disclaimer
I m not a Doctor or a Nutritionist The Nutrition information provided above comes from the plugin and is only an estimate.
Serve this delicious paruppu rasam with rice and a generous drizzle of ghee for a warm and comforting meal. This rasam makes a wonderful lunch box dish too. Mix it with rice and pack some extra in an air-tight container.
Some Dry Curry to go with rasam
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NARMADHA
Paruppu rasam is such a comfort food and can have them anytime. Freshly grounded masala makes it even more flavorful.
Radha
Rasam is always a favorite for me. Love your style rasam. Can’t wait to try.
Srivalli Jetti
There was a time when Rasam was the daily food for my boys. They have now moved away from it. The different rasams and the methods are surely something so interesting to know. Though this is a simple dish, getting it right is so tough right..your plate looks awesome Priya..
sushma pinjala
Rasam is one of my favorite, I can live on it for days and months. Paruppu rasam looks so good Priya.
Suma Gandlur
Which south Indian wouldn’t enjoy a bowl of piping hot rasam? It is a mandatory side dish in my in law’s place and my son too loves it. I therefore happen to prepare it frequently. Your south Indian style meal platter is looking delicious.