Milagu Rasam
A thin, peppery tamarind rasam made without tomato, traditionally cooked for colds and monsoon comfort in Tamil households.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 90 kcal
Equipment
- •Pot
- •Mortar and pestle
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 90 kcal
- fat
- 4 g
- carbs
- 10 g
- fibre
- 2 g
- protein
- 3 g
- calories
- 90 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Crush the black peppercorns, cumin seeds and garlic roughly using a mortar and pestle.
- 2
Squeeze and strain the tamarind juice from the soaked pulp.
- 3
Mix the tamarind extract, turmeric, chopped tomato if using, and salt in a pot. Bring to a boil.
- 4
Simmer for 8-10 minutes until the raw tamarind smell goes away.
- 5
Add the crushed pepper-cumin-garlic mixture and the thin toor dal (split pigeon pea) water.
- 6
Heat gently until frothy on top without letting it boil rapidly. Turn off the heat immediately.
- 7
Heat ghee (clarified butter) in a small pan. Fry mustard seeds and curry leaves until they crackle.
- 8
Pour this seasoned ghee over the rasam (tangy spiced broth). Garnish with coriander leaves and serve piping hot.
Chef's tips
Never let rasam boil hard once the dal water is added, or it loses its light, frothy character. Fresh coarsely crushed pepper is key to its warming quality.
Ingredient substitutions
- toor dal water → plain water with a spoon of cooked dal mashed in
Storage
Refrigerate for up to 1 day; best consumed fresh.
Reheating
Reheat gently on low flame without boiling.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Boiling the rasam vigorously after adding dal water, making it flat and dull
- •Using pre-ground pepper powder instead of freshly crushed
Serving suggestions
Cooked Milagu Rasam?
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