Tomato Rasam Recipe | No Garlic Rasam | Jain Soup Recipe

Tomato Rasam -a traditional soup from India has always been popular inclusion in the topics concerning Healthy Homemade Soups.

What's simple and easy to cook is everyone's delight and in choice. Isn't it?

Tomato Rasam is another form of warm-hugging traditional soup that is easy and quick to make. It's a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals. Several health benefits from weight loss to aiding digestion are good enough to incorporate this soup into your daily diet.

Southern India, it has a specific nomenclature- Charu (Telugu), Saaru (Kannada), and Tomato Rasam(Tamil). It's a Juice (extract of tamarind and tomato juices), that's why, in Sanskrit - It's Rasa

Today I've made this Jain version of rasam as traditionally rasam has the inclusion of garlic. In this recipe, you will find great taste without onion and garlic. Even during fasting, it can be consumed as it also doesn't contain any dal.

You can enjoy this traditional tomato rasam soup with steamed rice or after a meal.

Read Related: 

• Healthy and tasty broccoli almond soup 

• Low-calorie healthy spinach corn soup

Overview

Preparation time: 10 mins.    Cooking time: 20 mins.   Course: Indian Soup    Serve: 4

Ingredients

Major

• Tomatoes -3 medium-sized

Veggies and herbs for green paste

• Green chilies- 1
• Chopped coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
• Curry leaves - 1 stem (15-16 leaves)

Spices for ground paste

• Black pepper - 6-8
• Cumin - 1/4 teaspoon
• Star flower-1
• Rock salt -1/2 teaspoon

Rasam seasoning spices

• Red chili powder-1teaspoon
• Turmeric powder-1teaspoon
• Salt -1 and 1/2 teaspoon
• Rasam powder - 1and 1/2 Tablespoon (any good brand)
• Tamarind paste- 1 tablespoon

Tempering (tadka) ingredients

• Oil/Ghee-2tsp
• Hing(asafoetida) -2 pinches
• Mustard seed- 1teaspoon
• Curry leaves- 6-8
• Dry red chilies-2

Extras

• Jaggery-1/2 teaspoon
• Chopped coriander for garnishing

Let's start Cooking - Rasam

Step-1

Firstly prepare Imli/tamarind paste by soaking tamarind for 2-3 hours in hot water and then pass it through a strainer to remove all unwanted particles. 

Read: How to make homemade tamarind pulp

Step-2

Take all the green paste ingredients in a mortar.

Step-3

Grind green chilies, green coriander, curry leaves, peppercorn, cumin seed, stone flower, rock salt manually in a traditional mortar. Make a roughly grind paste and keep it aside.

Why "Mortar and pestle" is a choice?

Crushing and grinding of dry ingredients (like herbs) can be done perfectly with it, as I can decide on the texture, consistency, and size of the final constituents while grinding. Also, it gives an appealing taste, smell, and appearance to the final serve.

Note:  Green grounded paste is a key ingredient of rasam so always prepare it FRESH.

Step-4

Take oil in a deep pan. Put finely chopped tomatoes. 

Step-5

Sauté it with a covered lid until it turned mushy and starts leaving oil on corners.

Step-6

Now add the prepared grounded green paste and mix well. Saute for around 5 minutes.

Step-7

Add tamarin d paste and cook until its rawness go and it also starts leaving oil.

Step-8

Add all spices -chilly powder, rasam powder, salt (EXCEPT turmeric powder) at this stage, and mix thoroughly. Continue with Cooking it till the oil separates.

Note: Add a dash of water to protect spices from burning.

Step-9

Add 3 cups of hot water with 1 tsp of turmeric powder. Also, add jaggery to balance the sour and spicy taste of rasam.

Step-10

Bring it to boil and cook for further 5 mins.

Tip: Adding hot water to any gravy protects the color of the dish.

Step-11

90% of the Rasam preparation is over, let's move for tempering. For tempering take a small rounded pan, add oil, hing (asafoetida), mustard, dry red chili, and curry leaves to it.

Step-12

Once it shows crackling put the tadka in the rasam.

Note: Tempering in cooking can be with or without oil (dry roast). It has to be done preferably, at the end, when the final dish is almost ready.

To enhance the flavor of the spices roasting is a good process as it results in a gradual, consistent release of the ingredient's essence which provides an appealing aroma.

Step-13

Finally, garnish it with coriander leaves. "Serve hot" for best taste.

Recipe credit: Greeshma Yarramsetty

Video Recipe