Milagu Rasam (Tamil Pepper Rasam)
The peppery, fragrant, soupy Tamil rasam — pounded peppercorns, cumin, garlic and tomato simmered with tamarind, finished with curry leaves and ghee tempering. Soothing and clearing.
Per serving
Ingredients
- 4 mediumTomato
- 1Tamarind, small ball
- 3 cupsWater (for tamarind)
- 1 tspBlack peppercorns (milagu)
- 3/4 tspCumin seeds (siragam)
- 10Garlic cloves (pondu)
- 3Dry red chillies
- 1/4 cupCoriander leaves (kothamalli), with stems
- 1/2 tspTurmeric powder
- 1/2 tspAsafoetida (hing / perugayam)
- 1/2 tspMustard seeds
- 8Curry leaves
- 1 tbspGhee
- to tasteSalt
Method
- 1
Soak tamarind in 3 cups warm water for 10 minutes; squeeze and strain to get tamarind water.
- 2
Pound or coarse-grind peppercorns, cumin seeds, garlic cloves and coriander stems in a mortar to a rough paste.
- 3
Squeeze the tomatoes by hand into the tamarind water — break them up roughly.
- 4
Pour the tamarind-tomato water into a pot. Add salt, turmeric, hing and the pepper-cumin paste. Bring to a gentle boil.
- 5
Simmer on low for 8-10 minutes — the rasam should froth slightly on top and turn aromatic. Do not boil hard, it loses flavour.
- 6
In a small pan heat ghee. Add mustard seeds, dry red chillies and curry leaves. When mustard crackles, pour over the rasam.
- 7
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve as a soup or over hot rice with a dab of ghee.