Rasam (dish)


Rasam or saatramudhu 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 milagu thanni.

Origin

' in Tamil and Malayalam, ' in Kannada, Thili means watery, Saaru means curry or 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.
The name rasam is derived from Sanskrit रस; transliterated: rása, meaning sap, juice, or essence. The Sanskrit word also yielded the English word rasa, in the aesthetic sense.

Ingredients

Rasam is prepared mainly with a tart base such as kokum, malabar tamarind , tamarind, vate huli, ambula or amchur stock depending on the region. A dal or lentil stock 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.