Rasam Powder

Say hello to Ma. She's been kind enough (or.. should I say, excited! :P) to share her 'secret' Rasam powder recipe with us. ;-) Rasam, Saaru, Chaaru, Saathumudhu... different names, one dish. A tamarind based south Indian soup flavored with various spices to give it a different taste every time. Rasam is an indispensable part of a South Indian feast.

Freshly ground spice powder makes delicious rasam every time. However, people prefer to grind a month's worth of powder and store it for quick use. If you have this on hand, making rasam wouldn't take more than 10 minutes. There are ready made Rasam powders available in markets. But I don't think they stand a chance against my mum's aromatic rasam powder!

There are different kinds of rasam, varying by the ingredient. Think of tomato, garlic, ginger, lemon, gooseberry, drumstick, peppercorns, cumin, jaggery, apple, pineapple, orange etc. I can't list down all the possibilities in one post. What I can do is post some really rare ones here. (which I will, in a few months) But this powder forms the base for most of the rasam variations.

What we basically do with this powder is - We boil about a tablespoon or so along with some tamarind water and other vegetables to give an aromatic soup that we eat with rice.

RASAM POWDER RECIPE

(Print this recipe)

Prep Time - 10 minutes
Makes - 3 cups

Ingredients
Coriander Seeds - 3 cups
Black peppercorns - 1 cup
Chana Dal (split chickpea) - 1 cup
Dry red chili - 1 cup
Turmeric Powder - 1 tablespoon
Cumin Seeds (jeera) - 1 tablespoon

Method
1. If you live in a place where there is ample sunlight, sun-dry these ingredients. If not, roast them in the oven or on the gas.
2. Add all the ingredients into a blender / food processor and blitz to a fine powder.

3. Store in an air tight container and use as required.

Notes
- You can make more. Keep the ratio of the ingredients in mind. 3 parts of coriander and 1 part of the rest of the 3 ingredients.
- If you have a small blender, you can grind each ingredient separately and then mix it all.