← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 75 g Toor dal (split pigeon peas), rinsed
• 1.1 l water, divided
• ½ tsp Ground turmeric
• 1 Tomato, chopped
• 2 Green chilli, slit
• 2 cm piece Ginger, grated
• 1 sprig curry leaves, for the broth
• 1 tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Black pepper, coarsely crushed
• 1 lemon, juiced (about 3 tbsp)
• 1 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 2 Dried chillies, broken
• 1 pinch Asafoetida (hing) (optional)
• 1 sprig curry leaves, for the tadka
• 2 tbsp Coriander (cilantro), chopped

Method

1. Simmer the dal in 400 ml of the water with half the turmeric for 25–30 min, until soft (or pressure-cook for 3 whistles). Whisk until smooth.
2. In another saucepan, simmer the tomato, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, the rest of the turmeric and the salt in 300 ml water for 5 min, until the tomato is soft.
3. Add the dal, the remaining 400 ml water and the pepper and heat until it just begins to froth. Turn off the heat; boiling makes rasam lose its aroma.
4. Let it cool for 2 min, then stir in the lemon juice; added to boiling rasam it turns bitter. Taste and add more lemon or salt.
5. For the tadka, heat the ghee, crackle the mustard and cumin seeds, then add the dried chillies, asafoetida and curry leaves for a few seconds. Pour over the rasam, add coriander and serve.

Tips

• Most asafoetida contains wheat; skip it or use a gluten-free brand.
• Use oil instead of ghee for a vegan rasam.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Hebbar's Kitchen Sharmis Passions Padhuskitchen