A recipe for Ginger Rasam / Easy South Indian style lentil soup with ginger
There are not too many recipes where fresh ginger root is the main ingredient. There is the Puli-inji, a tamarind and ginger based condiment, or the ginger thokku which is a spicy pickle. I do feel all out of sorts if my fridge doesn’t stalk fresh ginger as I need it for my tea, come hell or high water. And that, my friends, is the reason, I end up ordering way too much. Like half a kilo at a time !
Watch the video recipe for Ginger Rasam
For the uninitiated, rasam is a very thin soup, traditionally made using the ‘stock’ that you get after cooking lentils. Alternatively, you can blend some cooked lentils with water to get a thin lentil soup base to prepare a rasam. It is not as thick as a usual dal. Tamarind or tomatoes provide the tanginess, and a special spice powder brings in flavour. A tempering of cumin seeds and curry leaves in ghee adds to the aroma.
This Ginger Rasam I’m sharing with you today is not a traditional family recipe, mind you. I don’t remember my grandma, mum or aunt having made this ever. But it makes good use of ginger and the heat from the ginger and pepper provide relief if you’re down with the sniffles.
This is completely a Bangalore weather inspired recipe. These days, the grey skies are forever threatening-to-rain and a bowl of hot ginger rasam, rice and ghee feels like the ultimate comfort food. The rasam is slightly thicker than it usually is (like someone on Twitter saw the pic I had posted and promptly pointed out). It works well as a soup too.
Ginger Rasam - Ginger and Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup lentils yellow (Tur Dal)
- 1 green chilli
- 2 tbsps ginger peeled and thinly shredded fresh root
- 1/4 tsp turmeric ground
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
for the spice powder
- 8 - 10 black peppercorns whole
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 red chilli dried
for tempering
- 1 - 2 tsps ghee
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves
Instructions
- Wash the tur dal well. Soak the dal in water for 30 minutes.
- Pressure cook the dal with the green chilli, turmeric and ginger along with 2 cups water. [Watch : How to pressure cook dal]
- Meanwhile, in a small pan, dry roast the peppercorns, cumin seeds and red chillies for 5-6 minutes on a low heat, until aromatic. Wait for it to cool. Crush it to a coarse powder using a mortar-pestle or in the spice grinder.
- Once the pressure cooker has cooled, open the lid, discard the green chilli and puree the dal with the turmeric and ginger, using a stick blender or the mixer.
- Return this to a pan, add around 3/4 cup of water. Bring this to a simmer on a medium heat. Add the turmeric paste spice powder, salt, give it a good stir and allow this to simmer for 3-4 minutes, until it starts foaming on the surface. Remove this from flame.
- In a small tempering ladle / pan, heat ghee. Add the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Once the seeds splutter, transfer this over the rasam and keep covered until ready to serve.
Serving suggestion -Lunch Menu:
- Ginger Rasam
- Crispy Okra
- Potato Curry
- Cucumber
- Rice
I’d love to know if you try this recipe. Share it on Twitter / Instagram and tag me @saffrontrail 🙂
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This came out really well. I almost wished I had a cold when I ate it, because it’s perfect comfort food, as you say in your post.
Very well presented video :). I cant wait to try it. Thank you.