Tomato Garlic Rasam - Thakkali Poondu Rasam
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) 
Loading ...Tomato Rasam is a very staple diet in the South Indian household. Being a South Indian and growing up in that environment this version was my favorite. Almost everyday, my packed lunch for school in that steel tiffin carrier used to be rasam rice, keerai masial (seasoned cooked greens), some vegetable and curd rice. Even today, given a chance I would make this everyday, but my children are so used to the multicuine food in the house, that I doubt their palates will turn out to be like mine.
The tomatoes in this rasam can be kept as pieces or ground into a puree and had as a soup. Or simply serve it with hot rice, topped with ghee and a South Indian vegetable of your choice, like beetroot curry, carrot curry, pavaikkai curry etc.
Serves: 4 persons
Cooking time: about 30 minutes Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- ¼ cup tuvar dal/yellow split pea
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon thick tamarind pulp or 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 large ripe tomatoes
- 1 ripe tomato diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon roasted coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 3-4 curry leaves
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
Method
Cook the tuvar dal. See Cooking Lentils and Legumes/Bean on how to cook tuvar dal.
Simmer the whole tomatoes in water for 5 minutes. Keep it aside covered for 5 minutes. Remove tomatoes from water and peel the skin. Grate or mash the tomatoes till fine.
In a sauce pan, add 1 ½ cups of water, grated tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, tamarind pulp, cumin powder, coriander powder, pepper powder. Once it comes to a boil, simmer it covered for 15 minutes until you notice the tomatoes are cooked (turned soft).
Add the cooked tuvar dal, 1 cup of water, salt to taste and simmer.
In another small frying pan/wok, heat the ghee. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, garlic and curry leaves to the hot ghee. Once they crackle add the seasoning to the above tomato dal rasam.
Simmer the tomato dal rasam for about 5 minutes or until it starts to froth.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve with hot rice or as a soup. A dash of ghee in the rasam before serving will enhance the taste.
Filed under: South Indian
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Archi,
Your site is simply super…excellent design and really wat pix….i am planning to try out each of these items…u have inspired me to take to cooking.
So so proud of you…way to go babes.
Lovely pictures on your site - and garlic saaru is one of my favourite things to eat, only I add dill leaves to it.
Hi Archana, your comment on my blog took me to yours. You have got a great site with interesting recipes.
Hey preeti - start trying :), there are quiet a few gujju recipes. We need to catch up.
Bird’s eye - thanks for stopping by, garlic saru is what you call in your town?
Jayasree - thanks for stopping by and glad you liked the recipes. They are everyday food, as I dont get much time to make exotic food.
We make this too, but without garlic …u should have had a great time with it
Slurp!! Looks gorgeous and delciously spicy!:)
Wow! That looks so refreshing. It’s cold here. Don’t mind slurping that Rasam, right now!!
hi archana thanx for dropping by .i stayed in bangalore for 2 yrs …never got the cannelonni.do try food world and nilgiris now….they might have it.this rasam of yours looks delicious…have always made rasam with MTR rasam powder…i will try out your recipe this time will let you know.:))
u add grated tomato and diced tomatoes.. is it for the thickness and texture? also is rasam always with dal or without?
I love anything that has garlic in it…i make Tomato Rasam with Garlic too, but no tuar dal…so this is a good variation. will try
Mallugirl - I added diced tomatoes, just so it has a good look and that feel of tomatoes when we eat them :). I typically make rasam’s with dal. There are rasam’s without dal as well. In our southern community, not sure if you are aware, we have about 10 different variations of rasam, each carrying a distinct flavor.
Saswati, i do not use MTR rasam powder, so far have not used many store bought powders. I feel I have no control over the spices.
Namratha,easycrafts, asha, meera - thanks- come over and we could have a south indian meal
thanks for dropping by, archana, and for your kind words. we just cooked up a batch of cherry toms. it would be perfect for this rasam.
Bee - cherry tomatoes would be great. as long as they are skinned.
Love rasam! I can almost smell it.
Hi Arch,
Tried this Rasam. Awesome. It came out very well. I usually dont add garlic in my rasam but after making this rasam. , I could not beleive the flavor & taste this rasam had. Thanks! Good Job….Keep up the good work.
Archie
I tried with canned San Marzano tomatoes (which are great to make to pizza sauce) and it turned out yummy. I used the juice of two lemons (to make more tangy). Tamarind pulp and concentrate in the US is a hit or miss.
You are an inspiration
Hey pavi- glad it came out well.
Hey Radesh - Sure US is a king of processed foods. I never saw so much variety while I stayed in France as well. Your rasam must have got the rich red color with the San MArzano sauce !
I make it the same way too. Nothing can beat a bowl of rasam on a cold, rainy day. Looks very nice with that tomatoes floating on the top.
Hi Archana,
I’ve blogged your Rasam as a model recipe in the 1001 South Indian curry cookbook at http://ramkicooks.blogspot.com
/Thanks for the detailed recipe
Ramki