Thakkali (Tomato) Rasam

Typically the rasam that I grew up with and was very fond of - my paati's rasam, was one that had everything... garlic, pepper, tomatoes, toor dhal etc. so only later in life did I come to realize that there were rasams that celebrated each ingredient with a special emphasis e.g. Tomato rasam, poondu (garlic) rasam, milagu (pepper) rasam etc.

When I first tasted this thakkali rasam made by Vijaya akka several years ago, i was so enamoured by it that I had to get the recipe from her. The only variation is that she strains the tomato juice after grinding it but I typically skip that step - but that's a personal preference. This rasam doesn't have any dhal or tamarind water and is delightfully delicious.

THAKKALI (TOMATO) RASAM


Ingredients:
Roma Tomatoes - 2 to 3
Turmeric Powder - half tsp
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - a few sprigs, chopped

To Grind: (to a slightly coarse paste with little water as reqd)
Garlic - 2 to 3 small cloves
G. chillies - 3 to 4
Peppercorns - 10
Jeera (Cumin seeds) - half tsp
Curry leaves - few

Seasoning:
Oil - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - quarter tsp
Jeera - quarter tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Dried Red Chilli - 1

Curry leaves - few

Method:
1) Cook tomatoes in about a cup of boiling water for about 5 to 6 minutes. Allow to cool, peel and grind in a mixie to a juice. You could strain this if you prefer - i don't. Mix the juice and the boiled water along with turmeric and salt and keep aside.

2) Heat oil + ghee in a pan and season with mustard, jeera, asafoetida (hing), curry leaves, and a broked dried red chilli. When the mustard splutters, add the ground paste and fry for a few minutes.

3) Add the tomato juice and allow to cook on a medium flame until it begins to form a layer of froth on the top and just begins to boil. Don't let this boil for anything more than a minute.

4) Switch off the stove, sprinkle the coriander leaves and cover the pot for atleast 5 minutes or so for the flavours to mingle. Delicious rasam is now ready to drink as is or with rice.

Comments

  1. S will die for this! its his favorite!

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  2. wow.Il just drink this up..I make a combo of all these..garlic,tomato,pepper..Rasam is just a comforting food..Thanks Lavanya for the post,as it gave me the essential nudge..:D..Great frothy click..:)

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  3. Me too, only in the recent years I've learnt a lot of rasam recipes that I've never even heard when I grew up..

    oooh... I can drink it just like that without rice! That foam on the top is what attracts me.. :)

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  4. i am craving for some rasam. so going to make it tonight...your method is slightly different.. you don't put rasam powder?

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  5. Oh this rasam look tempting and lovely color!!!

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  6. Except green chili, the ingredients are same :) Good with some pappad

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  7. i can almost smell the flavours of this rasam by just looking at it!! too delicious! i know what im making for lunch tomorrow :)

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  8. wow Rasam looks very mouthwatering..I can have that bowl

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  9. wish i could have hot rice and ur rasam on banana leaf right now!

    unga kai pakkuvam nalla theriyuthu rasa thula!

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  10. rasam is the absolute comfort food for me :) ... yours looks delicious... the picture is awesome :)

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  11. Love the reddish-orange color. Rasam is fav iin our house too, but never made with garlic. Like to try your recipe..

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  12. new version of rasam that too without tamarind and dhal.pic is very much invitig.will surely give a try.

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  13. looks so beautiful..i love rasam this way...with the tomatoes

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  14. Wow the rasom looks so tempting and delicious. I woudld just drink it in unlimited amount as it looks so yummy.

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  15. that's some great looking rasam! :-)

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  16. Thakkali Rasam, Very nice color and looks very tempting.

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  17. this rasam looks red, hot, spicy and sizzling


    Participate in colourful and fun filled event of Holi

    http://purvasdaawat.blogspot.com/2009/03/event-announcement-holi-hai.html

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  18. Great! I am going on a Rasam only detox once a week, this is perfect! :))

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  19. Rasama all the way :) Great looking Rasam!

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  20. My fav rasam, its really a comforting food...eyecatching colour!!

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  21. Love the colour, today am seeing this colour in quite a few blogs. I love rasam, I make a v quick, easy version with tomatoes in the pressure cooker, skins and all, no grinding or straining.

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  22. wow.. what a nice colour! Tomato rasam without dal is new to me.. looks yummy! Can have this as a soup too!

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  23. I dont add green chillies in Rasam..Lovely color Lavanya..Love to have rasam sadam at any time

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  24. This is very similar to how I make my rasam too except that there's no grinding/mixer involved in mine.
    You are right- there are so many different kinds of rasam that I too was not familiar with. Have u tried/heard of pineapple rasam? I saw one recently on one of the blogs and tried it- it was good, but I wonder why it was called a rasam!

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  25. Wow you made rasam looks so beautiful....

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  26. I got hooked on to rasam starting with tomato rasam. The color alone is enough to have two extra servings.

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  27. wow .. this is the ultimate comfort food ..

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  28. Thakkali rasam looks so gorgeous.
    Nice authentic recipe, without rasam powder. Yummy.

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  29. I could just drink a bowl of that...lovely colour...looks very tempting

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  30. i could feel the aroma of the fresh boiling rasam here.........wow yummy rasam lavanya...

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  31. I could not take the eyes from that..Looks super delicious...

    First time here i suppose, eyecatching blog..Super..

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  32. Can be drinked siply Laavany. Lovely photo. Viji

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  33. Hi Laavanya,Thanks for visiting me.Im glad to be here..You have an awesome blog with great pictures :)
    Rasam looks droolworthy..Seems like you are a rasam expert..
    Keep in touch,dear :)

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  34. hey, happy to know that u made the juice... next time i will try with green grapes. :)

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  35. very nice and easy recipe. I am look for such recipes that dos not involve daal. Beautiful color!

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  36. I love the colour of this rasam :)

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  37. I made this today, it is wonderful. I love rasam!

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  38. hi laav..how are you doing girlfriend!! you are on a cooking roll..and that rasam and soup looks good to me!!...will touch base with you soon..got a new phone number now...

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  39. This rasam recipe is very differnt for me...i should try this one soon.. lovely color Laavanya...

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  40. Looks wonderful, perfect comfort food :-)

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  41. i made your paati's rasam. it was wonderful. thank you.

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  42. Lovely rasam. Look so good. Lovely red color. YUM!

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  43. Please trail back to my blog. I have something waiting for you :)

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  44. I think I might be the only South Indian on earth wh doesn't like rasam.. :) I do love that picture though!

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  45. Thank you all for your comments. I've been a bit busy and so unable to reply individually.

    Bee, thank you so much for your feedback on my paati's rasam. Am so glad you liked it too :)

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  46. This looks so good! love the rich colour!

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  47. this one should be a real sinus buster. looks deadly and de.li.ci.ous

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  48. wow...tomato rasam is yummy and luscious..when i was in india my mother used to do it often..uphere in U.S. it's very hard to find ingredients and indian food products anyway i have found a great resource www.myethnicworld.com...if any one feels discomfort of finding ingredients u can find all the ingredients at one place.

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  49. I love tomatoes, and foods made heavily with them, looks so spicy and good!

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  50. Firstly, great blog! I make your dishes regularly for my family. I made this rasam today. My husband said it's the best rasam he's ever tasted!! and I'm a very mediocre cook. Do share more of your akka's recipes with us. :)

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  51. Anjali, thank you so much for your feedback. Am so glad to hear that you enjoyed this rasam since this is my favorite too. I have written down a few recipes from her and will be sure to blog them as and when i find time. Thanks once again for trying out other dishes too from my blog :)

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  52. i tried this ....it was awesome .....but i think ....the ammt of asofoetida is bit more ....then only the real raste come out....neways it was very nice ....

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  53. I tried this tonight, it came very well. Me & my roomate finished almost everything didnt even leave a drop in vessel. thanks for the recipe

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  54. Stephy, thank you for your feedback.

    Anees, am very glad to hear that. Thank you for letting me know how it turned out.

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  55. Very interesting recipes. Thanx for sharing.

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  56. Hi i am jamuna. I tried that tomato rasam, it was good.

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  57. This is the first time I tried a new rasam recipe. It was yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  58. Thank you Jamuna and Harini for trying out the rasam and for letting me know how you liked it! :)

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  59. hey, thnx ya for the recipe.. i tried this, it came out super & delicious.

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  60. Thank you Rahana... great to hear you liked it :)

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