Sri Lankan tamarind soup with pepper.

The perfect clear soup for cold, winter weather.

This tamarind soup also known as rasam to most of us, is also called thambung hodi in Sinhalese and puli aanam in Tamil.

 

The tamarind soup recipe below is an easier version or shall I say, a humbler version of the Indian rasam recipes. 

It’s so simple that should you have the urge to make it now, you will find these ingredients in your kitchen pantry.

 

The best food for colds and flu.

 

A definite rice-puller, the tamarind rasam does wonders when you suffer from illnesses such as colds, nasal blocks, sore throats and indigestion.

 

The tangy tamarind and pepper rasam with ginger, garlic, curry leaves, coriander-cumin seeds, is the best liquid food you can consume when you are having a cold or the flu.

 

If you need a little more solid food while sick, just add a few tablespoons of rice to the tamarind-pepper rasam.

 

When you lose your appetite and your taste buds feel nothing because of all the antibiotics and meds, try this tamarind soup(puli aanam).

 

 

The taste of the tamarind

pepper rasam.

 

The uniqueness of Rasam is that you could distinctly taste the flavors and aroma of every ingredient that is added to this clear soup.

The tang of the tamarind, the heat from the pepper, the sweetness of cumin and onions, the aroma of ginger, garlic, curry leaves, coriander can all be felt and tasted.

 

 

Beginner’s tips to make

the tamarind soup.

 

For this rasam recipe, I’m using the traditional grinding stone, you can use your blender with the spice grinding attachment to make the coarse rasam mixture as well.

 

How to use the traditional grinding stone.

 

• If you are a first-timer using a grinding stone, you need to wash the stone well and clean it as it can contain tiny particles of sand and stone.

 

• Place the ingredients in the middle and start grinding. You need to move the stone, in a forward and backward movement towards your bod while making sure the ingredients are ground.

 

• In order to avoid spills, keep collecting the ingredients towards the center and continue grinding.

 

• Once cooked, this Rasam will not thicken. it’s meant to be a clear, watery soup and free of oil or any other addition of thickeners.

 

• I’m grinding my rasam ingredients coarsely because I like to munch on the ginger, onion and garlic pieces but you could grind/blend the ingredients to a paste or strain the solids if you think you want to omit the bits and pieces. 

 

• This is relevant when feeding your fussy little ones who refuse to eat the moment they taste something “weird” in their food.

 

Meal ideas with the tamarind-pepper soup.

 

You can practically serve rasam with any type of menu.

Try the rasam with a few spoons of rice and dhal curry with poppadoms crushed over the rice and rasam, it’s one of my favorite ways adding the tamarind soup to my meals.

 

Utensils and appliances

Knife

Chopping Board

Cooking Pot (preferably a clay one)

Grinding Stone/Blender

 

More soup recipes!

Indian chicken rasam soup.

Bone broth-based vegetable soup.

Curried oat soup.

 

 

How to make Pepper

tamarind rasam.

1/4 cup tamarind pulp or 3 tablespoons of tamarind paste(see notes below on how to make tamarind juice)

2 cups of water

1 medium-sized onion finely sliced

2-inch ginger piece 

7 garlic cloves

A sprig of curry leaves

10-12 fresh black peppercorns

2 teaspoons of coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Salt to season

 

Method

How to make Tamarind Juice:

 

• Place Tamarind in a bowl(1/4 cup) and soak it in warm water(1/2 cup) for 15-20 minutes.
  Once soaked, strain the tamarind juice and discard the seeds.

 

• If you are using the tamarind pulp or paste, add tamarind(3 tbs) to 1/2 cup of warm water mix until dissolved.

 

How to make Tamarind soup(rasam).

 

For this process of making a coarse rasam paste I am using a grinding stone, you can use blender spice grinder attachment to make this paste with a few teaspoons of water to ease the grinding.

 

Wash the grinding stone surface. Place the onions slices(1), Ginger (2-inch piece), Garlic (7 pods) and the Curry Leaves ( a sprig).

 

These are the ingredients that extract liquid once ground, grind these ingredients over the stone until you’ve smashed most of the ingredients

If you are using a spice blender blitz once over medium speed.

 

Then add coriander(2 tsp), peppercorns (10), cumin seed(1 tsp).

 

Move the grinding stone back and forth without lifting it off the surface over the spice seeds until all the ingredients are coarsely ground.

If you are using the blender blitz again over medium speed once for the ingredients to appear as below.

 

 

Transfer the contents into a clay/cooking pot and add the tamarind juice and water.

 

 

Place the pan over the stove, bring the tamarind soup to a boil, make sure it doesn’t spill over, once boiled, reduce heat to low-medium and simmer for 15 minutes.

Give it a good stir taste and season with salt and if you feel you need a little bit more sourness, add a teaspoon of the pulp or juice to balance the taste.

Serve hot or warm. That’s when it tastes the best.

Sri Lankan tamarind soup with pepper(rasam).

Yield: 5

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Sri Lankan tamarind soup with pepper.

The perfect clear soup for cold, winter weather.

This tamarind soup also known as rasam to most of us, is also called thambung hodi in Sinhalese and puli aanam in Tamil.

Print

Ingredients

• Ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.
• 1/4 cup tamarind pulp or 3 tablespoons of tamarind paste(see notes below on how to make tamarind juice)
• 2 cups of water
• 1 medium-sized onion finely sliced
• 2-inch ginger piece
• 7 garlic cloves
• A sprig of curry leaves
• 10-12 fresh black peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons of coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• Salt to season

Instructions

HOW TO MAKE TAMARIND JUICE:

Place Tamarind in a bowl(1/4 cup) and soak it in warm water(1/2 cup) for 15-20 minutes.Once soaked, strain the tamarind juice and discard the seeds.

If you are using the tamarind pulp or paste, add tamarind(3 tbs) to 1/2 cup of warm water mix until dissolved.

HOW TO MAKE TAMARIND SOUP(RASAM).

For this process of making a coarse rasam paste I am using a grinding stone, you can use blender spice grinder attachment to make this paste with a few teaspoons of water to ease the grinding.

Wash the grinding stone surface. Place the onions slices(1), Ginger (2-inch piece), Garlic (7 pods) and the Curry Leaves ( a sprig). These are the ingredients that extract liquid once ground, grind these ingredients over the stone until you’ve smashed most of the ingredients

If you are using a spice blender blitz once over medium speed.

Then add coriander(2 tsp), peppercorns (10), cumin seed(1 tsp).

Move the grinding stone back and forth without lifting it off the surface over the spice seeds until all the ingredients are coarsely ground.

If you are using the blender blitz again over medium speed once for the ingredients to appear as below.

Transfer the contents into a clay/cooking pot and add the tamarind juice and water.

Place the pan over the stove, bring the tamarind soup to a boil, make sure it doesn’t spill over, once boiled, reduce heat to low-medium and simmer for 15 minutes.

Give it a good stir taste and season with salt and if you feel you need a little bit more sourness, add a teaspoon of the pulp or juice to balance the taste.

Serve hot or warm. That’s when it tastes the best.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 59Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 127mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 2g

Nutritional information on island smile is provided as a courtesy. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on the site. these figures should only be considered as estimates.

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