A recipe for a South Indian dish that is both popular and remarkably easy to put together
Whenever we throw a large party, this garlic-tomato rasam (soup) is a must. Not because we want to make it, but it is because our guests ask for it!
I love that this rasam can be made in just 20 minutes. This is one of a small handful of recipes where I use canned produce. In fact, this is probably the only recipe where my main ingredient is from a source that doesn’t need much work. I’ve tried to make this rasam from scratch, but the canned variety works better.
Use chunky tomatoes with absolutely no additives. Organic is better. BPA free cans are highly desirable. Read about the dangers of BPA to learn more.
The History
I got this recipe from my husband’s side of the family. His five sisters are an amazing library of culinary delights, most not the traditional fare I ate while growing up. For one, there is the use of garlic.
My mother rarely if ever used this aromatic bulb. When my mother-in-law visited us after we got married, I was quite horrified at her generous use of garlic. She’d throw in several garlic cloves into what turned out to be the most delectable dish. It was from my mother-in-law that I learned to fall in love with garlic.
My husband’s side of the family calls this goddu saaru (saaru is the Kannada equivalent of rasam). On the internet, the recipes that show up for it are very different from what my in-laws make.
The traditional way to have it is to eat it with rice, ghee and curry. I’ve become quite creative, and we have this as a thick, chunky soup with a sliced of buttered sourdough bread. Or, we pour out the rasam piping hot into a stainless steel tumbler (called lota), add a tiny dollop of homemade ghee and slurp it down with relish.
Why Is This Healthy?
Did you know that tomatoes are actually fruits? They are a major dietary source of the antioxidant lycopene, which gives them their bright red color and which has been linked to many health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease and cancer. They are low in calories, high in water content, and have nutrients like potassium, vitamins B and E.
The Recipe
Course: Appetizer, side dish, soup
Cuisine: Indian, South Indian, south Kanara
Special diet: Gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, vegan, vegetarian, no added sugar
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Serves: 8
Calories: 20kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 3.5 cups tomato – 28-ounce BPA-free can. Use chunky tomatoes
- 3.5 cups filtered water – ½ cup more if you want the rasam to be more runny
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/8 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 2 spits of curry leaves
- 1 tbsp garlic, roughly chopped
- 1.5 tsp Himalayan pink salt – or to taste
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 tsp rasam powder, or to taste (I use this)
- 1 tbsp cilantro leaves, finely chopped
METHOD
- Heat oil in a thick-bottomed pan. Add cumin and fenugreek seeds and wait till they sputter. Add curry leaves and garlic, and sauté until the garlic turns light brown.
- Add crushed tomato, turmeric powder, salt and black pepper powder.
- Add filtered water. Give everything a nice stir.
- Add rasam powder. Mix well and let the rasam come to a gentle boil. Taste for salt and tanginess (if your tomatoes are not tangy enough, add a dash of lime juice, dry mango powder/amchur, or a bit of tamarind juice).
- Add more water if you like your rasam less thick.
- Sprinkle finely cut cilantro, mix and serve hot. You can serve this as a soup, or pair it with rice, dal, homemade ghee and curry.
Notes
- *Use organic ingredients wherever possible.
- For the full recipe, go to https://healthy-indian.com/recipes/easy-garlic-tomato-rasam/
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