Milagu rasam (pepper rasam)
AI-drafted · awaiting admin review
A thin, peppery tamarind broth with cumin and garlic, drunk as a soup or poured over rice, and the home remedy for colds.
Region: Tamil NaduOccasion: Everyday meals; when someone has a coldTime: 20 minServes: 4Vegan
Ingredients
- A small lime-sized ball of tamarind
- 3 cups water
- 1 tomato, crushed
- 1½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp toor dal
- 4 garlic cloves
- ½ tsp turmeric
- Salt to taste
- For tempering: 1 tsp ghee or oil, ½ tsp mustard seeds, a pinch of hing, curry leaves
- Coriander leaves
Method
- Soak the tamarind in 1 cup warm water and squeeze out the extract.
- Dry-roast the pepper, cumin and toor dal and pound them coarsely with the garlic.
- Boil the tamarind water with the tomato, turmeric and salt for 5 minutes.
- Add the pounded spices and the remaining water. Heat until it froths up, then turn off before it boils hard.
- Temper with mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves in ghee and add coriander leaves.
History
Rasam (also called saaru) has been part of South Indian cooking for centuries. Black pepper, grown in the Western Ghats, was the main source of heat before chillies arrived.
Significance
Rasam with rice is the second course of a Tamil meal. Pepper rasam is given to people recovering from fever or cold.