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.
  • Baellae sāru – pigeon pea lentil
  • Bassāru/kattu sāru – boiled vegetables/greens/lentils
  • Beetroot rasam
  • Black pepper sāru – black pepper
  • Elumichai rasam – lemon juice
  • Hesaru kālu sāru – green gram
  • Huruli sāru - made from horsegram
  • Inji rasam – ginger
  • Jīraga rasam – cumin
  • Kandathippili rasam – greens
  • Kattu sāru – Togari bele and Byadgi chillies
  • Kaḍalai rasam – black chickpeas
  • Kattina sāru – jaggery
  • Killu Milagai saatramudhu - dry red chilli
  • Koẕi rasam – chicken
  • Mudakathān rasam – balloon vine
  • Māngā rasam – raw or semi-ripe mango
  • Murungai pū rasam – drumstick flower
  • Miḷagu rasam – black pepper
  • Mysore rasam – fried lentils
  • Nellikkāi rasam – Indian gooseberry
  • Panasa tona charu - jackfruit
  • Puḷi rasam – kokum or tamarind extract
  • Paruppu rasam/pappu sāru – pulses and tomato stock
  • Pūndu rasam – garlic
  • Tili sāru – sieving water from plain rice
  • Thakkāḷi rasam – tomato puree
  • Vēpam pū rasam – neem flower
  • Venkāya rasam – eggplant