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Karnataka-Style Rasam

A spicy tamarind and tomato soup from Karnataka, made with toor dal, coconut, and aromatic spices.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Turmeric and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,698 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Karnataka-Style Rasam

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the dhal

  1. Pressure cook the dhal with sufficient water.

  2. If using tomatoes, parboil first to remove skin, then chop roughly.

Make the rasam

  1. To the cooked dhal, add salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, and tomatoes or tamarind extract.

  2. Simmer for 3–4 minutes.

  3. Add the asafoetida, grated coconut, and ground coriander.

  4. Add any other spice as required.

  5. Simmer for a few minutes to cook the coconut properly.

Temper and finish

  1. In a separate frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat.

  2. Add the mustard seed and cumin seed.

  3. When the mustard seeds pop, remove from the heat and add to the soup along with the curry leaves.

  4. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

444Calories
5 gProtein
42 gFat
17 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 11 ingredients. The other 4 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Coconut1/2 cup shredded (40g)283
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Tamarindnot in our table0
Asafoetidanot in our table0
Coriandernot in our table0
Seednot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Turmeric + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,698 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Coriander + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,866 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Turmeric + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,253 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Tomato + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  5. Tomato + cumintop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,272 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Toovar dhal
Cooks down into the soft body of the soup and thickens the broth.
Tomatoes
Add acidity and body; their skin is removed by parboiling first.
Tamarind paste
Provides sour acidity that gives rasam its characteristic tang.
Grated coconut
Adds richness and mild sweetness, softened by simmering in the broth.
Oil
Carries the spices' aroma and flavour when tempered in the pan.
Mustard seed
Pops in hot oil, releasing a nutty, pungent aroma into the finishing oil.

The step that matters

Popping the mustard seeds. Mustard seeds pop in hot oil and turn bitter if scorched, so remove the pan from the heat as soon as they start popping, before adding them to the soup.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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