Name: Murungaikai Rasam | Drumstick Rasam
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 gooseberry size Tamarind ((or 1 tbsp Tamarind paste)); 3 nos Drumstick (About 15, 2" pieces); 2 tbsp Toor Dal (Pigeon pea); 1 pinch Asafoetida (Asafetida / Hing); 1.5 tsp Salt ((adjust to your taste)); 1 tsp Ghee (Clarified butter); 2 tsp Coriander seeds; 2 tsp Toor Dal (Pigeon pea); 1 tsp Peppercorns; 1 nos Red Chili; ½ tsp Cumin Seeds; 1 tsp Mustard seeds; 1 nos Tomato; few Curry leaves; 1 tsp Ghee (Clarified butter) ((or cooking oil))

Spicy, Tangy and Tasty

5 from 1 vote

South Indian meals never complete without the Rasam. Drumstick Rasam is an unique rasam variety. We use freshly ground spice powder, tomato and importantly drumstick to make this rasam. This rasam will be spicy, sour and very tasty.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

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Reading Time: 6 minutes

Rasam is an integral part of the lunch menu in most of our kitchen. Rasam is a thin lentil based gravy which has tamarind as a base with tomatos and other spices. We usually add Drumstick in Sambar/Kuzhambu, but adding Drumstick in the Rasam is something not very common. In that way, this rasam is very unique where we are adding the drumstick pulp to the rasam. The aroma of cooked drumstick with freshly ground spices and tempering is very soothing and treat to our taste buds. For a change you may want to try this rasam and I am very positive that your family will like it.

Some of the key tips to make Murungakkai Rasam (Drumstick Rasam)

Cooking of Drumstick – As you might already aware, Drumstick won’t get cooked in the tamarind water. Cook the Drumstick well before adding the tamarind water.

Choosing Drumstick – Drumstick Rasam taste and flavor is coming form the drumstick flesh. Choose tender and long drumstick which has more flesh. To extract the drumstick flush, it has to be cooked nicely. I recommend to pressure cook it along with the dal. You can cook them in the stove top also. Once fully cooked, remove the flesh carefully using a spoon . You can use the frozen drumstick as well.

Adding Tomato Puree – I prefer this Rasam to have the dominant flavor of Drumstick, hence i didn’t add tomato puree. But you can always puree the tomato and add it to the Rasam. This gives nice texture, color and also taste to the Rasam

Use freshly ground Masala – I always recommend to add freshly ground Rasam Masala. But you can also use the readymade Rasam Powder.

Cooked Toor Dal – For any Rasam, the dal needs to be cooked completely. We should be able to mash the cooked dal easily with the ladle. If it’s not cooked, then we don’t get the full flavor of the dal in the Rasam

Garnish with Ghee – Ghee add excellent flavor to the Rasam. For frying and tempering, ghee is recommended (instead of cooking oil).

Adding Coriander Leaves – Use Coriander leaves with stems for garnishing. Stems are crunchy and add very nice taste and flavor to the Rasam

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Recipe card to make Drumstick Rasam (Murungakkai Rasam)

Method to make Drumstick Rasam with step by step pictures :

Soak the tamarind in water and extract the juice
Wash and Chop the Drumstick to 2″ pieces. Also chop the tomato into smaller pieces and keep it aside.

Pressure cook half of the drumstick pieces (about 7-8) along with toor dal over 3-4 whistles.

Once the pressure is released, mash the dal nicely. Also using a spoon, remove the pulp of the drumstick. Keep them aside.

Heat a pan, add ghee and add the grinding ingredients except cumin seedsand fry it till the dal turns golden brown color. Remove the fried ingredients from flame and add it to mixer and also add cumin seeds

Grind the ingredients to a fine powder and keep it aside.

Add the rest of the uncooked drumstick pieces to a sauce pan and add water and allow them to cook.
When the drumstick pieces are fully cooked, add the tamarind juice to a vessel along with salt, curry leaves and hing.

Allow the rasam to boil till the raw smell of the tamarind goes off. Add mashed dal, cooked drumstick pulp and mix well . Add 2 cups of water and keep in low flame and allow in flame for another 5 minutes. Finally add the ground powder and mix well and when the rasam gets the froth, remove from flame.

Heat another pan, add ghee and add mustard seeds and when the mustard seeds starts to sputter, add curry leaves and chopped tomatoes and saute the tomatoes till they are cooked and then add it to the rasam.
Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice