tamarind rasam

Tamarind Rasam without Tomato

By Swasthi on July 26, 2022, Comments, Jump to Recipe

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.

tamarind rasam

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

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.

ingredients to roast and powder for tamarind rasam recipe

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.

Tamarind is soaked in warm water

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

tamarind is squeezed

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.

tamarind rasam

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

tamarind rasam

Tamarind Rasam without Tomato

Tamarind rasam is a South Indian soup which is made with dried tamarind pulp, curry leaves, basic tempering spices, jaggery and coriander leaves.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Servings2
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • 1 tablespoon ghee or oil
  • 3 to 3½ cups water
  • small lemon sized tamarind
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon mustard
  • 1 pinch Hing or asafoetida
  • teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves along with stalks chopped finely
  • ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
  • 4 to 5 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1 to 3 tablespoons jaggery (adjust to taste)

To roast and powder

  • tablespoons coriander seeds
  • ½ tablespoons cumin
  • ½ teaspoon pepper corn
  • ¼ teaspoon methi or menthulu
  • 1 small dry chili


Instructions

Preparation

  • Heat a pot and dry roast on a low to medium flame – methi seeds, coriander seeds, pepper corn and red chilli until the methi smells good.
  • Then add cumin and fry for 30 seconds.
  • Cool and make a fine powder in a blender or hand pestle. Set aside.
  • Soak tamarind in ¼ cup warm water. Squeeze the juice and set aside. You can filter to remove debris. You can also add tamarind directly. If your tamarind is clean you may add the pulp as well.

How to make Tamarind Rasam

  • Heat oil in a deep pan. Add cumin, mustard, red chili. Fry till you get a nice aroma.
  • Add curry leaves, hing and fry till crisp. Add the powder and saute for a minute.
  • Pour water, add tamarind, crushed garlic, turmeric, salt, jaggery .
  • Let the tamarind rasam boil for 5 minutes on a medium flame.
  • Add coriander leaves and switch off.
  • Taste the tamarind rasam and add more salt or tamarind if needed.
  • Serve tamarind rasam with rice and vegetable stir fry.


Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Tamarind Rasam without Tomato
Amount Per Serving
Calories 92 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Sodium 26mg1%
Potassium 206mg6%
Carbohydrates 20g7%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 14g16%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 45IU1%
Vitamin C 1.3mg2%
Calcium 72mg7%
Iron 3.9mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

Tamarind Rasam without Tomato

About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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Comments

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5 stars
Hi, thanks for the recipe but can I skip jaggery or can this recipe be altered to skip jaggery? I can’t take sugar

5 stars
Very Nice recipe. Made it with black aged imli and cherry sized jaggery. Full of flavour

Could u pls share tamarind measurement in table spoon or teaspoon

5 stars
Tastes awesome

Nice recipe

No need to add ginger ?

Wao its very good delicious ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Mouth watering…
Can you send me more pics and recipe with tomato ? and with out tamato… I will try. From lahore Punjab pakistan

Tamarind Rasam is excellent! I had a cold and no appetite and this soup awakened my tastebuds. Thank you.

Shall we use the same rasam powder that we powdered for tomato rasam?

5 stars
Could I use tamarind paste or concentrate if I dont have tamarind?

Hi, Can you suggest same dhaniya rasam for 9 month old baby?

5 stars
Hi swathi

I really love the way you do the recipes…i have tried ur panner butter masala,dosa,any many of them its really very useful.thank u swathi

5 stars
Hi. I was just tired of routine dishes. I tried your receipe today, it was excellent,yummy…I tried south Indian sambar too , it was awesome… Thank you

5 stars
Hi swathi
I love ur way of explaining the step by step method.
Though I knew the recipe..will go through ur post before doing it..
Recently tried paneer tikka masala…ok ok..but no restaurant taste…
Thank u for ur postings
Love
Manju

Yeah…..
Thank u for your reply..
Love
Manju

5 stars
Hi Swathi!
I’m big fan of ur recipes! It’s really helpful how u post ur recipes along with step by step pics.i tried chicken biryani,chicken65,egg fried rice & the above rasam following ur recepies.all for the first time!! & All of them turned out yummy! ?Thank you so much for posting ur recepies! They r very very helpful to me & many like me! I wish I could show u the pictures of recepies I’ve made ?.keep posting! Loads & loads of love to you & thank you again! ?

5 stars
Prepared for 3 times till now. Tasty without any side dish. And unique because of freshly ground powder.
Can I prepare miriyala charu with the same recipe by adjusting the quantity of pepper(by reversing the quantities of dhania and pepper)
Thank you

Thank u sis ?M too good and I hope u n family are doing superb. That’s true. I will just add tsp more then

Hi Swasthi,

Thank you so much for the guidance. My daughter loves plantain rice and oats khichdi shared in the blog. This blog is really helpful and your quick response to the comments means a lot.

3 stars
Hi Swasthi,

Thanks swasthi for sharing awesome recipes. Just wanted to know that is tamarind cause colic in babies? If possible can you please share some chutney recipes for babies.

Hi Mam,

Your articles are very helpful and thank you for sharing!!

My baby is 8 months old now.Can you tell me from how many months i can start giving this rasam recipe to my baby.

4 stars
Hi swasthi very good recipe….in.my childhood I.had a telugu neighbour…I was very much fond of their food…sply dal…but I dnt knw the recipe….it used to b thick and pulli taste red yellow in colour….if u know it plzzz share it….

new to me.. looks good swasthi..