Rasam Powder
The Quirky Foodster Team
About 1 cup
Servings
Ingredients
- Coriander seed — 1/2 cup
- Dried red chiles — 3 tbsp
- Chana dal (split chickpeas) — 2 tbsp
- Urad dal (split black gram) — 2 tbsp
- Cumin seed — 1 tbsp
- Fenugreek seed — 1 tbsp
- Black peppercorns — 1 tbsp
- Turmeric — 1 tsp
- Curry leaves — a handful
- Similar base to sambar powder but with a lighter dal proportion and a heavier emphasis on black pepper and cumin, reflecting rasam's spicier, more peppery character relative to sambar
Method
- Toast whole spices and a small amount of dal together, cool, grind.
- Essential, and notably includes toasting raw lentils/dals alongside the spices — a distinguishing preparation step versus most other blends in this reference, which toast only spices. As standard sambar powder, though generally a shorter toast given the lighter dal content.
Origin: South India, formulated for the thin, tangy rasam soup.
Use: Added to the tamarind-based rasam broth during cooking.
Classic Dishes: Rasam (a thin, peppery, tamarind-based South Indian soup).
Storage: Keeps 3-4 months sealed and dark.
Variations: Closely related to sambar powder but formulated for a thinner, spicier, more pepper-forward broth rather than a thick lentil-vegetable stew.
Substitutions: A simplified mix of coriander, cumin, chile powder, and turmeric approximates the flavor without the lentil-toasting step. Sambar powder plus extra black pepper and cumin.
- Coriander seed — 1/2 cup
- Dried red chiles — 3 tbsp
- Chana dal (split chickpeas) — 2 tbsp
- Urad dal (split black gram) — 2 tbsp
- Cumin seed — 1 tbsp
- Fenugreek seed — 1 tbsp
- Black peppercorns — 1 tbsp
- Turmeric — 1 tsp
- Curry leaves — a handful
- Similar base to sambar powder but with a lighter dal proportion and a heavier emphasis on black pepper and cumin, reflecting rasam's spicier, more peppery character relative to sambar
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