How To Make Tomato Rasam
Tomato Rasam Recipe. Alfred Prasad, Head chef at Michelin-starred Tamarind in London's Mayfair shows how to make his special Tomato Rasam, a stimulating thin soup of tomatoes flavoured with coriander, garlic and peppercorns. It's a hot South Indian dish that is great with another dish, as a starter, or on its own. Devour our Tomato Rasam recipe.
Step 2: Lentils
The lentils will form a stock for the tomato soup
Put 4 teaspoons of split yellow lentils, also known as Toor Dal, into a bowl, and pour in some cold water. Swirl them around. This will wash any dust from the lentils. Repeat this a couple of times. Rinse and add to the large saucepan
Add 800ml of cold water, and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Leave to simmer for 20 minutes.
Step 3: Garlic
Crush 4 cloves of garlic with the flat part of a knife.
Step 4: Grind
Put the garlic into a mortar. Add a sprinkle of peppercorns and a sprinkle of cumin seeds. Use the pestle and mortar to roughly grind the mix.
Step 5: Add ingredients
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large saucepan over a high heat. Add the garlic, peppercorns, and cumin seeds to the pan and stir for 1 minute. Turn down the heat and leave to simmer.
Step 6: Coriander
Chop the leaves using a sharp knife, and put the stems to one side.
HANDY HINT
Wash the coriander after you've chopped it. Put the leaves into a bowl of cold water and swirl them around for about 30 seconds. The freshest leaves will float to the top. Remove these from the bowl and leave to drain.
Step 7: Curry leaves
Turn the heat up. Add three sprigs of curry leaves to the saucepan.
Step 8: coriander stems
Add the small bunch of coriander stems
Step 9: Tomatoes
Use a sharp knife to chop 4 tomatoes up into small chunks. Add to the pan. Stir for 30 seconds then reduce heat.
Step 10: Add lentil stock
Sieve the lentil stock into the pan
Step 11: Chilli powderand turmeric
Add 1/2 a teaspoon of red chilli powder
Then add 1/2 a teaspoon of turmeric powder, and stir again.
Bring to the boil, then turn it down to simmer for 10 mins.
Step 12: Simmer
Cover the pan, and leave to simmer for 15 minutes over a low heat, until the tomatoes are soft. Check the pan occasionally, and stir to stop burning.
Step 13: Tempering
In a separate non-stick pan, heat up 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil on a high flame to start to make a tempering.
Temperings are a combination of spices in oil, added to soups or sauces at the end of cooking to add a final boost of flavour.
After about a minute, when the oil is very hot, add 1/2 of a teaspoon of mustard seeds.
When they start to crackle, add one sprig of curry leaves, and a pinch of asafoetida.
Keep stirring.
Step 14: Strain
Strain the soup into the tempering. Press down well with a spoon to ease out all the soup. Bring to the boil over a very hot flame.
Step 15: Tomato Paste
Add half a teaspoon of tomato paste to add some colour
Step 16: Salt
Add half a teaspoon of salt
Step 17: Garnish
Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves onto the soup.
And Serve
