Tamarind Rasam without Tomato

Tamarind rasam is a South Indian traditional soup made with tamarind, spices and herbs. Rasam is one of the healthiest soup from the South Indian cuisine. It is a staple in many households and is eaten with rice. Tamarind rasam is a variation of the traditional rasam which is primarily made with the use of tamarind and no tomatoes are used.

I have fond memories of my mom making it for us when someone in the home had fever or any other digestive problems. In South India, we make so many kinds of rasam like tomato rasam, dal rasam, pepper rasam and many more. But

About Tamarind Rasam

Tamarind rasam is a South Indian soup which is made with dried tamarind pulp, curry leaves, basic tempering spices, jaggery and coriander leaves. It is well known that tamarind rasam is a household remedy for indigestion, fever, cold, cough and many minor ailments.

Tamarind rasam is known as puli rasam in Tamil, where puli is a word for tamarind and rasam is a traditional soup. In Telugu it is known as chintapandu charu where chintapandu translates to tamarind in Telugu and charu is a word for rasam.

This is soothing, comforting and is great for those recovering from illness. It tastes slightly tangy, sweet and spicy, works well to restore the lost appetite. It instantly provides relief from cold and cough when served warm with mushy softened and sticky rice.

My Recipe

A well-made tamarind rasam has a right balance of all the tastes to tickle the taste buds and ignite the digestion. This is my mom’s recipe which I have used it time and again even for my babies & would serve them at least twice a week.

A typical South Indian meal is incomplete without a Rasam or Sambar. Rasam is always soothing and comforting to the stomach and in fact healthy since it is a digestive aid.

But sometimes dal and even tomatoes in rasam can irritate the stomach and can aggravate the heart burn and stomach gas especially during sickness or even during a stomach upset.

So this tamarind rasam is the way to go! It is light and helps you a lot in easier digestion. We also call this as Dhaniyala Charu since coriander seeds are used.

Coriander and cumin seeds in this rasam aid in restoring the digestion. If you have a heartburn or stomach problem, you can have this rasam with soft cooked rice and a light vegetable such as a stir fried bottle gourd or ridge gourd.

You can make this rasam and refrigerate for 2 days and use it. You can serve this tamarind rasam with rice and vegetable stir fry like Potato fry, Bhindi fry, Mushroom Pepper Fry & Brinjal Fry.

This rasam does not need any ready made rasam powder. The ingredients are dry roasted and powdered to make this flavorful rasam.

More recipes,
Rasam recipe
Lemon Rasam
Tomato rasam

Photo Guide

How to make Tamarind Rasam (stepwise photos)

1. Heat the pot in which you intend to make rasam. Add coriander seeds, pepper, methi and dry red chili.

2. Dry roast them until aromatic on a low to medium heat. Then add cumin and fry for 30 seconds.

3. Cool them completely and powder finely using a handle pestle or a blender. Remove this to a plate.

2. This rasam does not need tomatoes and tamarind is used to bring the sourness in the rasam. Tamarind is soaked in warm water.

This step helps to add more or less as needed. So I prefer to soak and squeeze out the juices. If you need more sourness then add more water and use the tamarind water.

3. It is squeezed and then used in the rasam.

4. Filtering the tamarind pulp is optional and you may skip it if tamarind is clean. You can even add the pulp like the way I did. The tamarind pulp settles at the bottom after making the rasam, which you can discard.

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