Easiest Tomato Rasam/Saaru

In my mother's house, rasam was made when the sambar or the bele saru is short for the night. We were never big fans of drinking rasam. I developed liking to drink rasam only after I left India. One of the ways we made tomato rasam was by churning tomatoes in the blender and adding rasam powder and boiling it. That was the quickest rasam one could make. I made it even simpler by using diced tomatoes can and making it. You can always cut couple of tomatoes into big chunks and churn it in the blender. Here goes my version..

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes medium 4 - 5 cut into big chunks (I used one 14.5 Oz can of diced tomatoes with no additives)
• Rasam powder - 1 - 11/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Tamarind - an inch sized ball juice extracted (I used the paste about 1/4 tsp) - You can skip this if the sourness of tomatoes is enough to your taste.
  
• Cilantro - chopped about a TBSP

For tempering:

• Oil - 1 TBSP
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Hing - a big pinch
• curry leaves - few (optional)

Method:
Blend the chunks of tomatoes or the canned diced tomatoes in a blender with no water. Transfer into a saucepan. Add more water to the desired consistency of the rasam (You might have to add a little more since by the time it is done, some water will have evaporated). Add rasam powder, salt, juice of tamarind if using and let it boil for a few minutes. Check for the seasonings and adjust if necessary. Add the chopped cilantro. In another small pan, heat oil and when hot add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add hing, curry leaves and add this to the boiling rasam. Turn off the heat. This is best take warm and the left overs can always be refrigerated and warmed later. Since there is no dal in this rasam, it can stay fresh for a week in the refrigerator.

Variations:
Instead of tempering hing, you could use crushed garlic. You can add cumin seeds with mustard seeds.

Happy Cooking!! Pin It