Rasam (Tamil- ரசம்) is a spicy South Indian soup-like dish. It is usually served as a side dish with rice. In a traditional South Indian meal, it is part of a course that includes sambar rice. Rasam has a distinct taste in comparison to sambar due to its own seasoning ingredients and is watery in consistency. Chilled prepared versions are marketed commercially as well as rasam paste in bottles. An Anglo-Indian variety of rasam is the soup-like dish mulligatawny whose name is derived from the Tamil word mulagu thani.

Origin

Rasam in and Tamil, Tili sāru in Kannada (Kannada script: ತಿಳಿ ಸಾರು), or chāru(చారు) in Telugu means "essence" and, by extension, "juice" or "soup". In South Indian households rasam commonly refers to a soupy dish prepared with a sweet-sour stock made from either kokum or tamarind, along with tomato and lentil, added spices and garnish.

Ingredients

Rasam is prepared mainly with a tart base such as kokum, malabar tamarind (kudam puli), tamarind, vate huli (vate huli powder), ambula or amchur (dried green mango) stock depending on the region. A dal or lentil stock (for rasam, the typical dal used is split yellow pigeon peas or mung beans) is optional but is used in several rasam recipes. Jaggery, cumin, black pepper, turmeric, tomato, lemon, mustard seeds, chilli powder, curry leaves, garlic, shallots and coriander leaves may be used as flavoring ingredients and garnish in South India.

Types

Different kinds of rasam are listed below with their main ingredients.