Rasam powder (Rasam podi)

Rasam powder recipe – Learn how to make rasam powder or rasam podi at home. Rasam is a traditional south Indian soup and podi is a flavorful spice powder. This post will teach you how to make the best aromatic rasam powder & how to store it well for 6 to 12 months without losing the flavor.

South Indian rasam is made in so many ways with almost similar ingredients, same is with rasam powder too. It is made with almost same ingredients but the ratio differs slightly in each recipe.

The recipe of rasam podi varies by region & community. So each home may have a different recipe. For years I have carried fresh homemade rasam powder from my mom. I would keep it in the fridge and use for about any year.

Since we are a larger family now, I began to make my own rasam powder. So the recipe I have shared here is from my mom who has been making it for several decades. She pens down all her recipes in a dairy which we all youngsters follow.

So this rasam powder is something which we have made it time & again, shared with friends & relatives. Always got a positive feedback on how aromatic it is.

I have included tips to easily customize this rasam podi recipe to suit your taste or to give a flavor you like.

How to make rasam powder (stepwise pics)

Roasting lentils

1. Dry roast chana dal and toor dal on a medium heat. Since I made in small quantity I have roasted both the dals together. If making in larger quantity, dry roast them separately.

2. Keep stirring and fry until golden to light brown and aromatic.

3. Pour the coriander seeds and red chilies.

4. Keep stirring and roast until the coriander emits a nice aroma. The red chilies will also turn crisp. Set them aside to a plate.

5. To the same pan, add methi seeds and roast until they turn aromatic.

6. They will turn slightly dark in color.

7. Add jeera and pepper. Very soon jeera turns aromatic. Transfer these as well to a plate.

8. Add the curry leaves and roast. You can also fry them in little oil. I always avoid using oil for any spice powders including for rasam powder.

9. When the leaves turn crisp, remove them.

10. Cool all these completely.

Making rasam powder

11. Transfer all the cooled ingredients to a mixer jar.

12. Make a fine rasam podi. If needed sieve it and blend the coarse grains again.

Store rasam powder in a clean and airtight steel or glass jar.

Pro Tips

Red chilies: We do not eat very spicy and hot foods. So my rasam powder is not spicy but is high on flavor. So do adjust the red chilies used in the recipe.

With the amount of chilies I have mentioned even young kids & toddlers will be able to enjoy it. Usually the store bought rasam powder uses a lot of red chilies to give it a color and to cut down the cost.

Basic rasam powder is just made with toor dal, pepper, coriander, jeera, red chilies and hing. To make it flavorful and tasty, one can use the following ingredients:

Chana dal lends a unique aroma and slightly thickens the rasam.

Fenugreek seeds or methi seeds add a unique aroma and is also healthy. But you can skip this if using whole methi seeds for the rasam during tempering. I add them in the podi as well in the tempering, after all they are very healthy for the body.

Roasted Curry leaves also add flavour that is different from the fresh curry leaves. This is another healthy ingredient. But this one too can be skipped, if you do not have.

The color of the rasam powder can differ based on the type and amount of red chilies used. To make rasam for kids, do add less or skip red chilies from the recipe. Pepper alone yields a good amount of spice and heat to the rasam.

How to make in large quantity?

I have shared in detail how to make rasam powder just good enough for a month in the recipe card below. Here is how to make rasam powder in larger quantity that lasts for an year.

1. Clean all the ingredients first and roast them one by one on a low to medium flame until aromatic. Do not combine 2 ingredients and roast.

When done in small quantities like I have done below, they can be added one after the other & roasted. But when made in large quantities they have to be roasted separately as the roasting time is different for each ingredient.

2. Cool the ingredients in a large wide plate. Make sure no moisture from steam is trapped in them.

3. Send the entire mixture to a flour mill to make the rasam powder. Do not cover the container until the rasam powder is completely cool.

We usually spread a muslin cloth on the container and bring it home. Cool it completely.

How to store

For many years I used aluminum foil to pack all the foods I would bring from India. In the recent years I have stopped that as well and began to use washed & sun dried small cloth bags. Pack the foods & then wrap the bag in cling wraps so that the rasam powder does not come out.

I pop these rasam powder packs in the fridge or freezer when I reach Singapore. The key to step to keep rasam powder fresh is by making several small packs of the rasam powder. Open as and when needed.

Normally I would make 6 packs, each would last me for 2 months. Every time I open a new pack I transfer it to a glass jar.

This rasam powder can be used to make Tomato rasam, lemon rasam or mysore rasam or any other south indian rasam recipes.

For more masala powder recipes, you can check
Sambar powder
Bisi bele bath powder
Garam masala
Biryani masala

Recipe card