Nataraja Iyer Rasam | Tomato Rasam
A simple Tomato Rasam, always good to digest any heavy meals we had. We can serve as Soup to increase our appetite. For any festive lunch or a full meal, Rasam is an integral part of South Indian Thali. Without Tomato Rasam, meal is not complete. Many of us make this Tomato Rasam on a day to day basis, but surely I believe this recipe would be helpful for all beginners who start their cooking journey.
Generally, we prepare Rasam Powder in large quantity and store it in air-tight container and use it whenever we make rasam. In this Tomato Rasam, we follow the recipe of famous chef Nataraj Iyer where we are not going to use the conventional Rasam Powder. The main spice is from green and red chili which we are going to add it with the tamarind juice itself. The other spice is from Pepper-Cumin Powder. Also adding jaggery enhances the flavor and brings out the tanginess of tamarind and tomato. The green chili along with ginger really enhances the flavor. I tasted this rasam in one of the marriage function and loved it.
There are many different varieties of Rasam we can make. But some varieties are strong in one flavor, for example, garlic rasam has a strong flavor of garlic, orange or pineapple rasam has its own strong flavor of the fruit. But this Tomato Rasam is simple, yummy and surely completes the meal satisfyingly.
If you like this Nataraja Iyer Rasam, then you can also try other Rasam Recipes.
- Kalyana Rasam – Kalyana Rasam is a Rasam usually served in the Tamil Brahmin marriages. It tastes delicious with the right balance of tangy, spice and sweet.
- Pineapple Rasam – Unique and Tasty Rasam with dominant flavor of Pineapple
- Milagu (Pepper) Rasam – A Traditional and Healthy Rasam which tastes yummy with a hot steamed rice
- 15+ other Rasam varieties – Collection of Traditional and unique Rasam Recipes
Recipe Card to make Nataraja Iyer Rasam
Tomato Rasam (Nataraja Iyer Rasam)
Ingredients
- 1 Gooseberry Size Tamarind
- 1 Tomato Finely chopped
- 2 Green Chili Slit
- 3 Red Chili Broken
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetida (Asafetida / Hing)
- 1.5 tsp Salt Adjust to your taste
- 1 tbsp Grated Jaggery
- 1 inch Ginger Mashed
- 2 tbsp Toor Dal (Pigeon pea)
For Grinding
- 1 tsp Peppercorns
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
For Tempering
- 1 tbsp Ghee (Clarified butter)
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1 fistful Curry Leaves
Instructions
- Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 mins and extract the juice
- Wash the dal and add turmeric powder and pressure cook for 4 whistles till the dal is completely cooked and becomes soft and mushy. Mash the dal and set it aside
- Take pepper and cumin seeds in mixer jar and grind it to coarse powder and set aisde
- In a brass vessel or stainless steel sauce pan, pour the tamarind juice. Add chopped tomato, salt, green chili, broken red chili, ginger, hing and grated jaggery. Boil the tamarind mixture for 10 mins in medium flame
- Add mashed dal to the cooked tamarind and stir well. Add 2 cups of water and keep the flame in low. We don't want the rasam to boil anymore
- Add pepper-cumin powder and stir once. Finally garnish with coriander leaves. Keep the rasam in low flame till you get a frothy layer on top. Then Switch off the flame. Do not boil the rasam anymore
- Heat ghee in a pan. Add mustard seeds and allow it to sputter. Then add curry leaves and mix. Pour this tempering to the rasam.
- Serve the delicious Rasam with hot steaming rice and a spoon of ghee and enjoy the real yummy Rasam!
Video
Nutritional Info
Method to make Nataraja Iyer Rasam
- Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 mins and extract the juice
- Wash the dal and add turmeric powder and pressure cook for 4 whistles till the dal is completely cooked and becomes soft and mushy. Mash the dal and set it aside
- Take pepper and cumin seeds in mixer jar and grind it to coarse powder and set aside
- In a brass vessel or stainless steel sauce pan, pour the tamarind juice. Add chopped tomato, salt, green chili, broken red chili, ginger, hing and grated jaggery. Boil the tamarind mixture for 10 mins in medium flame
- Add mashed dal to the cooked tamarind and stir well. Add 2 cups of water and keep the flame in low. We don’t want the rasam to boil anymore
- Add pepper-cumin powder and stir once. Finally garnish with coriander leaves. Keep the rasam in low flame till you get a frothy layer on top. Then Switch off the flame. Do not boil the rasam anymore
- Heat ghee in a pan. Add mustard seeds and allow it to sputter. Then add curry leaves and mix. Pour this tempering to the rasam.
- Pour this tempering to the rasam.
- Serve the delicious Rasam with hot steaming rice and a spoon of ghee and enjoy the real yummy Rasam!
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I liked the presentation step by step. Will prepare sure.
I love this! It tastes so yum.
A small doubt – I once added extra dal and it did not taste like rasam. How do I fix it?
My grand mother just uses the cooked dal water and make the rasam so light in consistency. But I personally prefer little more dal for rasam. If we feel the dal is too much, then we can increase the rest of the ingredients like tamarind/tomato, salt, rasam powder accordingly and make the rasam more thin
Excellent
Thank You
Very yummy especially in winter
Thank you!
You have not mentioned abt spice mixture in the ingredients list. What are the ingredients?
Sorry its a typo. There is no spice mixture. The main spice for the rasam is from green and red chili. also from pepper-cumin powder.
Lovely! I’ve always wanted to make Rasam without the powder. Thank you. The rasam is almost the elixer of life for South Indians, and it is an example of how ‘the very simple’ can be the ‘most satisfying’. I intend making this; and when i do, i will be raising a glass of it as a toast to Nataraja Iyer , and of course to you, for bringing it to us. 🙏
Thanks and glad that you liked the Rasam.
The recipe video was excellently made. It was crisp and to the point, without missing any essential detail. It’s way better than longer video recipes. It makes one want to try it immediately. Really good exponents of any art make it appear so easy.
Thanks. Glad you liked it.
Very tasty rasam. Was quick and easy to make. Is a combo between the paruppu rasam and tomato juice rasam that I make at home. Thx for the recipe.
You are most welcome