Rasam recipe – Simple, easy & quick recipe to make delicious rasam at home. Also known as saaru in Kannada and chaaru in Telugu, rasam is a most basic and essential dish in a South Indian meal. It is commonly served with plain rice and a vegetable side dish. But it can also be served as a soup. This South Indian rasam recipe needs no rasam powder, no dal & can be made in a jiffy with pantry staples.
The word Rasam means “juice” in Tamil and Telugu. It can mean any juice.
Table of contents
About the recipe
So What is rasam?
Rasam is a South Indian spiced soup made with tamarind, tomatoes, spices and herbs. Mustard, cumin, fenugreek & black pepper are the key spices used to flavor it.
This humble and comforting soup is said to possess a lot of medicinal values as it is simmered with the spices. It aids digestion and is great to have even during cold & stomach upsets.
So rasam is a staple in many traditional South Indian homes. I make this when I have no pre-made rasam powder & in a hurry to make dinner.
The taste of this comes very close to the one served with a South Indian meal in any restaurant. It tastes slightly tangy, mildly sweet & flavorful from cumin, pepper powder and garlic.
This is so simple that even beginners can make it. This rasam is also suitable to serve babies & toddlers. For babies skip the red chilli and black pepper. Pass the rasam through a strainer before mixing it with mashed rice. For toddlers skip red chili and reduce black pepper.
You can also refrigerate and consume within 2 days. Bring it to a rolling boil before serving.
Here are some vegetable stir fry dishes to serve with rice & rasam
potato stir fry
sweet potato stir fry
brinjal stir fry
Bhindi stir fry
carrot stir fry
Preparation for rasam recipe
1. To a pan, add ¼ teaspoon methi seeds & one dried red chilli. On a low flame, dry roast them until methi turns slightly aromatic. Then add 1½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera) and ¼ to ½ tsp pepper corn.
Roast all of them until methi seeds turn slightly dark in color and aromatic. If making for baby or toddler skip red chili and use less pepper. Cool them and add to a grinder jar.
2. You can also coarsely crush it in a mortar pestle. Set aside. You can also skip this roasting part & just powder the spices directly but the aroma is great when roasted.
3. Add 1½ tablespoon oil to a hot pot. When the oil turns hot, add half broken red chili, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and ½ teaspoon mustard seeds.
4. Soon they begin to splutter, then add 3 to 4 crushed garlic, 1 sprig curry leaves and then a pinch of hing. Saute well until the leaves turn crisp.
How to make rasam
5. Add 1 to 1½ cups chopped or mashed tomatoes or pureed (about 2 to 3 medium tomatoes). Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon turmeric.
6. Cover and cook or saute until the tomatoes turn mushy.
7. Add spice powder or rasam powder from step 1.
8. Mix and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. The spice powder must smell good.
9. Pour 2½ to 3 cups water. Add 1 teaspoon tamarind. Less is fine but don’t a lot.
10. Add jaggery to taste. I use about 1 to 2 tablespoons to balance the flavors. So adjust to your taste.
11. Bring it to a boil & let simmer for 5 minutes. Rasam boiled on a low flame tastes good. Stir well and take little rasam in a tablespoon. Cool it and taste test. Add more salt, tamarind and jaggery if needed.
12. Add ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves with stalks. Cover and turn off the stove.
Serve rasam with rice and some papad, stir fry veggies.
You may like to check these
Tomato rasam
Tamarind rasam – without tomato
Lemon rasam
Rasam powder recipe.
Faqs
Yes rasam is considered to be one of the healthiest South Indian dishes. Spices like cumin, fenugreek & pepper are said to improve digestion and help in building immunity by detoxifying the body naturally.
It tastes slightly sour, spicy and hot with bursting flavors of spices. A well-made rasam has the right balance or sour, sweet and hot tastes.
Yes use any store bought rasam powder. But the specialty of my rasam recipe is in the spice powder I mentioned in the recipe below. With the spice powder mentioned here it is super flavorful and delicious.
Whole spices are the key to a good rasam. So there are no substitutes.
Basic rasam vs tomato rasam
For a basic recipe, the spice powder is made without lentils and coriander seeds. Roasted cumin, pepper and fenugreek seeds are crushed or powdered and used. But the spice powder used to make tomato rasam has a small amount of lentils & coriander seeds added to it as a thicker.
So both the versions taste completely different & even the consistency is different. Basic rasam is on the thinner side.
How to make garlic rasam?
Pour ½ cup water to a pot and heat it. Add a lemon sized ball of tamarind and let it soften. Then add another 1½ cups water and extract the juice. Discard the pulp.
To the same bowl, add the spice powder we made in the recipe along with 8 well crushed medium garlic cloves. Add jaggery and salt to taste. Bring this to a boil and then reduce the flame to low. Simmer it for 5 minutes. Add coriander leaves and turn off.
Make a tempering in 1 tsp hot ghee by adding ½ teaspoon mustard seeds, 4 crushed garlic cloves, 1 red chilli & 1 sprig curry leaves. When the garlic cloves turn slightly golden, add 1/8 tsp hing. Pour this to the garlic rasam.
Rasam recipe
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
- 2 to 3 medium tomatoes or (1 to 1½ cups) chopped or pureed
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2½ to 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon Tamarind (optional, use as needed) or lemon juice
- 1 to 2 tablespoon jaggery or sugar (or as needed)
- ¼ cup coriander leaves with stems chopped finely
for tempering or seasoning rasam
- 1 ½ tablespoon oil or ghee
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 dried red chili (broken) (less spicy kind)
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic crushed (optional)
To roast & powder ( or use 1 tsp cumin powder & ½ tsp pepper powder)
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon pepper corn (black pepper)
- 1½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 small dried red chili optional (use less spicy kind)
Instructions
- Add ¼ teaspoon methi seeds and 1 dried red chilli to a small pan and begin to dry roast them on a low to medium heat.
- When the seeds turn light golden, then add 1½ teaspoon cumin seeds & ¼ to ½ teaspoon pepper corn. Roast them briefly until the seeds begin to smell good. Turn off the heat.
- Cool & add this to a grinder or spice jar or mortar pestle. Grind them to a fine powder.
Tempering
- Heat oil or ghee in a pot. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds & red chili.
- When they begin to splutter, add 3 to 4 crushed garlic, 1 sprig curry leaves and a pinch of hing.
- Saute well for a minute till the leaves turn crisp.
How to make rasam
- Add tomatoes, salt and turmeric. Saute until the tomatoes breakdown, become mushy & soft.
- Then add the ground spice powder. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. The spice powder must begin to smell good.
- Next pour water. Add tamarind and jaggery. Bring this to a boil.
- Then simmer for 5 minutes after it comes to a boil. Soon It thickens slightly.
- Stir well and take little rasam in a tablespoon. Cool this and taste test. Add more salt, jaggery or tamarind to adjust the taste. I make it sweet, sour & hot.
- Add chopped coriander leaves. Simmer for a minute. Cover and turn off the stove.
- Serve rasam hot with rice or as a soup.
Notes
- Feel free to use more jaggery & tamarind as needed. I usually make rasam that tastes sour, sweet & spicy.
- If you have rasam powder ready then skip roasting and powdering the ingredients mentioned under “To roast and powder. Use rasam powder as desired.
- You can also make this rasam recipe just with 1 tsp cumin powder and half tsp pepper powder.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Rasam recipe first published in December 2012. Republished on 12th December 2020.
VIMLA WESTWOOD says
Hi, the plain rasam was a staple in our family in Fiji, especially my mum’s. They are telegu and the first thing they did in the morning was a pot of rasam. My mum made dhal, tomato rasam as well which I preferred.
My dad was a Tamil and although in his family in India rasam was a staple; for some reason he wouldnt recommend us eating it, only occasionally. He reckoned that the water in Fiji was not suitable for rasam. We never understood why.
What do you think
Vimla
Mastanvali says
Easy to cook and tasty also
swasthi says
Thank you
Greeshma says
Super Easy and delicious rasam.. Thank you so much
swasthi says
Welcome Greeshma
Winnie says
This rasam was not only easy to make but also very tasty. Loved it.
swasthi says
Glad to know Winnie
Deviraja says
Hi mam!!.🙏. I have been cooking only through your recipe guidance🍔..I have tried shorba, veg pulao, veg biryani, aloo paratha, paneer masala.🍔..Everything came out in such sumptuous and delicious taste👌.. The most useful thing is you r picturising each and every steps which is really useful than reading notes.. I really loved it..thank you for your taste and yummy recipes…keep rocking ahead…🌹
swasthi says
Hi Deviraja
You are welcome! So happy to know the recipes are helpful. Thanks for the comment.
Divya says
The recipe is simple and it came out so tasty! Made rasam in a punjabi house for the first time and everybody loved it 😁
swasthi says
Glad to know Divya
Rom says
Hi Swasthi, I am wondering if you know how to make black pepper rasam (miriyala charu). As far my recollection goes it is a very simple rasam. However, I don’t remember what else goes in there apart from black pepper. Please post the recipe if you happened to have it and when you get a chance.
Thanks,
Rom
swasthi says
Hi Rom garu
Yes I can share the recipe soon.
Rom says
Thanks very much
VARAPRASAD ATLURI says
It came out Super.
I never knew making Rasam is so easy.
Thanks for sharing
swasthi says
You are welcome!
Glad to know!
Thank you
Parul says
Nice video n
Step by step with pictures and ingredients
Fantadtic
Very good
Thank you
Parul sheetal soparkar
swasthi says
You are welcome Parul
Thank you
Kay says
I followed the recipe and it came out super good!
swasthi says
Thank you
Ankita says
Thankyou so much. I made that rasam yesterday for the first time, my parents loved it! So grateful for your existence. Thankyou again 🙂
swasthi says
Hi Ankita,
You are welcome! So happy to know! Thank you so much
Sobha says
Best way explained and very organized website
swasthi says
Thank you Sobha
Sheetal says
Superb rasam everyone at home liked it. I always prefer your recipes first …
swasthi says
Thank you so much Sheetal
Glad you all liked it!
Neha says
Loved it! Super good! Thanks for the recipe
swasthi says
Welcome Neha
Abhi says
Love love love it
swasthi says
Thank you!
Jodie says
I have just been staying at an Ayurvedic Health retreat in Kerala. I want to continue eating this way when I return home to Australia. I love your recipes! Thank you!
swasthi says
Hi Jodie,
You are welcome! Thank you! Yes do try it.
Enjoy your stay!
🙂
Himanshu Gandhi says
Easy to understand. Thanks
swasthi says
Welcome!
Senthil says
Excellent rasam… proper tamilnadu taste
swasthi says
Thank you!
Subramanian says
Awesome recipe
swasthi says
Thank you!
Barbara Karge says
How much rasam powder do I put into the recipe for the soup? I bought rasam powder in a spice shop in India last March.
swasthi says
Hi Barbara,
It depends on the brand of rasam powder. Some are too spicy. Try with 1 tsp. If you feel the spice and flavor is low then add another half tsp.
Vidya says
Thanks for sharing
Krishnan Srinivasan says
This so called rasam receipe is very very old method. We are doing it more than 60 years with the same method. The readymade rasam powder has been introduced very recently only. So it is not an invention but conversation.