Rayalaseema Rasam
Veg
Vegan
A thin, intensely peppered tamarind rasam incorporating horse gram water — the cooking liquid from boiling horse gram is added to tamarind extract along with ground black pepper, cumin, dried red chilli, garlic, tomato, and a tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves in sesame oil. More body and earthiness than standard pepper rasam due to the horse gram water; drunk at the end of a rice meal to settle digestion or poured over rice as a light mid-meal liquid. The Rayalaseema rasam's dual source of sourness (tamarind + horse gram) and its heavy black pepper make it distinct from the Tamil-style rasam or the standard Andhra rasam.
Cuisines
Rayalaseema
Andhra
Best for
Lunch
Dinner
Recipe
Prep: 15 min
Cook: 30 min
Total: 45 min
2-3 servings
Ingredients
| 1 cup | toor dal (pigeon peas) |
| 4 cups | water |
| 1 medium | tomato, chopped |
| 1 small | tamarind, lemon-sized ball |
| 2 tablespoons | ghee |
| 1 teaspoon | mustard seeds |
| 1 teaspoon | cumin seeds |
| 2 | dried red chilies |
| 1 pinch | asafoetida (hing) |
| 1 sprig | curry leaves |
| 1 teaspoon | turmeric powder |
| 1 teaspoon | red chili powder |
| 1 teaspoon | coriander powder |
| 2 tablespoons | coriander leaves, chopped |
Instructions
- 1 Wash the toor dal thoroughly and cook it in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water until soft and mushy.
- 2 Soak the tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes and extract the juice, discarding the pulp.
- 3 In a pot, add the cooked dal, tamarind juice, chopped tomato, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and salt.
- 4 Add 2 cups of water to the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
- 5 In a separate pan, heat ghee and add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add cumin seeds, dried red chilies, asafoetida, and curry leaves.
- 6 Pour the tempering over the simmering rasam and mix well.
- 7 Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.
Tips
For a more authentic taste, use homemade ghee and freshly ground spices.