Rasam Powder
Rasam is a traditional South Indian dish and is a staple in many households.This Rasam Powder recipe is very easy to make at home and will help you make flavourful rasam in a jiffy.
With minimum Indian grocery ingredients, rasam powder can be made in less than half an hour and the best part is, this powder can be used not only to make rasam, but also to spice up dishes like vegetable koottu (a traditional vegetable and lentil based gravy) and dry vegetable curry. There are literally as many variations in rasam powder as the number of south indian families, because each family alters the basic recipe to suit their preferences. This one is my mom’s recipe and I’m happy to share it with you all. Stored in refrigerator, stays fresh for 6 to 8 months.
Ingredients
Coriander seeds – 2 cups
Dry red chillies – 1/2 cup
(more spice, less colour)
Kashmiri dry red chilly – 1/2 cup
(less spice, more colour)
Whole black pepper – 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds – 1/2 cup
Toor dhal – 1/2 cup
Chana dhal – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 2 tbsp
Yield
~3 1/2 cups
Prep time
5 mins
Cook time
15 mins
Method
1) Heat a heavy bottomed pan and dry roast each one of the ingredients from the above separately, except the turmeric powder and cumin seeds. Keep the heat in low and roast each ingredient one by one until aromatic and just warm to touch.
2) Transfer all the roasted ingredients to a flat plate and let it cool completely. Once cooled add the turmeric powder and cumin seeds and mix once.
3) Grind everything coarsely in a mixer/grinder. Your rasam powder is ready. Store the rasam powder in an airtight container and refrigerate.
Notes
- Quantity of dry red chillies and black pepper can be adjusted slightly to suit your preference.
- This powder can be used to make a variety of dishes like rasam, vegetable koottu, dry curry etc. Use your imagination to create more mouthwatering dishes with this spice mix.
- You can roast a handful of washed, dried curry leaves and add it to the other ingredients before grinding for added flavour. But any residual moisture in the leaves will reduce the shelf-life of the rasam powder so be a bit careful if you are doing this.
- Do not roast the cumin seeds. Roasted cumin has a totally different taste and it will alter the taste of the rasam powder. Fresh cumin seeds along with the other roasted ingredients is the perfect way to get an aromatic rasam powder.
Beginners tips
- Keeping the heat in minimum is very important while dry roasting. This will ensure even roasting of the ingredients without actually changing the colour.
- We roast each ingredient separately because they all roast at different rates.
