South Indian Tomato Rassam (தக்காளி ரசம்)
This refreshing family of South Indian broths, or 'rassam', are a great option for a light-sitting lunch or for uplifting poorly souls.
‘Rassam’ is a family of simple, broth-based dishes that are usually served with rice and Indian pickle. It’s a staple of both hot and cold seasons in South India, and the spice blend in it is used accordingly to control the dish’s alleged ‘heating’ effect on the body. The heart of rassam is ‘rassam podi’, or rassam powder, which is a spice blend made from toasted lentils and an assortment of key Indian spices. This recipe will grant you enough of this spice blend to make this dish a few times over, but if it becomes a staple of your own I recommend making it in a decent batch. Using almost any vegetables, you can create a light lunch or supper to enjoy with rice. As you can imagine too, it’s a brilliant dish to uplift anybody feeling a bit poorly! Let’s go!
INGREDIENTS (serves 2x)
RASSAM POWDER (makes enough for 3-4x rassam recipe)
3 tablespoons toor daal or split yellow peas - optional
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 tsps black mustard seeds
8-10 black peppercorns
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
8-10 curry leaves - fresh or dried - optional
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing) - optional
TOMATO RASSAM
4 medium-sized tomatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or ghee
1 clove of garlic, sliced
1-2x dried chillies, torn and deseeded
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp tomato paste/puree
200ml water
2 tsps tamarind concentrate or lime juice
1 tsp sugar, or to taste
1 tsp salt, or to taste
2 tsps of rassam powder, or to taste (see recipe above)
To serve: rice, Indian pickle, fresh coriander
WALKTHROUGH
First we will make the rassam masala. Place a small frying pan onto a medium-low heat. Add the 3 tablespoons of toor daal/yellow split peas and gently toast them until lightly browned and nutty. Remove them and set them aside.
Add the 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 2 tsps black mustard seeds, 8-10 peppercorns and 1 tsp fenugreek seeds. Toss the seeds until they are lighrtly toasted and fragrant, about 30-60 seconds. Tip them into the cooled lentils.
Add the 8-10 curry leaves and toss them until they are lightly crisp and slightly browned. Add them to the other spices.
Back into the pan, add all of the toasted spices followed add the 1/2 tsp chilli powder and 1/4 tsp asafoetida. immediately turn off the heat and toss the spices until you can smell the punchy asafoetida aroma, about 10 seconds.
Tip all of the spices into a pestle and mortar or spice blender and blend the spices until well-ground. This ‘rassam powder’ can be stored in an airtight container in the cupboard for up to one year.
Now, let’s blanch the tomatoes. Cut a slit across the bottom of three tomatoes and place it into a heatproof bowl. Pour over boiling water to cover the tomatoes and leave them to blanch for 1 minute. Remove the tomatoes and rinse under cold water before removing the wrinkled skins. You can discard the skins.
Place the peeled tomatoes into a bowl and crush them with a potato masher until you have a coarse puree. Set this aside.
To finish the rassam, place a saucepan onto medium heat. Add the 2 tablespoons of oil or ghee followed by the deseeded, dried chilli and 1 clove of sliced garlic. Fry the ingredients gently until just fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the 1 tsp of turmeric and 1 tsp of tomato paste. Fry these ingredients until the oil is stained golden, about 30 seconds.
Add the crushed tomato puree followed by 200ml water and 2 tsps of tamarind concentrate/lime juice. Bring the mixture to a boil.
Add the 2 tsps of rassam powder, or to taste, followed by the 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp of salt. Taste and adjust the seasoning - the exact quantity will vary widely depending on the tomatoes you use.
Serve the rassam with rice and Indian pickle, with some torn, fresh coriander added to the dish. Enjoy!
