Tomato rasam without dal

Fragrant and flavorful tomato rasam/Saaru made with freshly roasted spices and coconut!

If you love rasam, you need to give this version a try! If you haven’t heard of rasam, it is a South Indian spicy broth generally served over rice. It can also be sipped like a soup. Innumerable kinds of rasam exist in the South Indian cuisine. The most popular kind of rasam is made using tomatoes, although versions without tomatoes exist like this horsegram rasam(huruli saaru). Rasam is ALWAYS a part of a full course Southern Indian thali/banana leaf meal.

This recipe is a special tomato rasam/tomato saaru made in Havyaka households of South Canara. In Havyaka language, it is called ‘horudu koodi saaru‘ which literally translates to ‘roasted mixed rasam’. Spices are freshly ‘roasted’ and mixed(blended) with coconut to make this rasam and hence, the name! Horudu koodi saaru is fragrant, slightly sweet and sour and can be made as spicy as you would like it to be.

How is this rasam special?

• Made using freshly roasted spices! No pre-made rasam powder needed.
• Doesn’t use any kind of dal but uses fresh coconut instead. Gives the rasam a unique taste.
• Can be made without tomatoes too, in that case, just increase the amount of tamarind used.
• Quick, as no dal needs to be cooked!
• Very easy to make, no hard techniques involved!

Ingredients

• Spices-In Udupi-Mangalore region, the spices used to make rasam/saaru are coriander seeds, cumin seeds, methi seeds and dry red chillies. For an authentic taste, use byadagi variety of chilli. A mix of Karnataka byadagi and Guntur byadagi can be used. Kashmiri dry red chillies can be mixed in too, in fact they give a very bright colour to the saaru.
• Balance of flavours – Havyaka food is flavourful due to the balance of flavours. Jaggery(unrefined Indian sugar) adds sweetness and the tomatoes and tamarind lend sourness.

Serving and storage

• Serve horudu koodi saaru hot/warm with rice! Happala/Papad and rasam make a great match!
• Can also be sipped on, like a soup.
• I also like to drink it mixed with some yogurt/Indian buttermilk.
• Store leftovers in the refrigerator. Tastes better the next day. Bring it to a gentle boil before serving.
• To make a meal, include some South Indian sautéed vegetables like this Kale palya and Mangalore style palya.

Tomato rasam without dal

Shwetha

Mangalore style rasam with freshly roasted spices and coconut!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Havyaka, Indian

Servings 4 people

Equipment

• Blender/Indian mixer-grinder
• Measuring cups used(US cups). 1 cup =240ml

Ingredients

  

• 350 grams tomato about 3 cups
• 2½ cups water used divided
• ½ cup fresh/frozen coconut
• 1 tsp salt or to taste
• 1 tbsp jaggery
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• dry tamarind check notes
• 1 sprig curry leaves

Spices to roast

• 2 tsp coriander seeds kottambari/dhania
• ¾ tsp cumin seeds jeera
• 20 fenugreek seeds methi
• 3 byadagi dry red chillies or to taste
• ¼ tsp asafoetida/hing
• 5 curry leaves

Instructions

 

• Chop tomatoes into bite size pieces. Add chopped tomatoes into a pot, add 1 cup of water, salt, turmeric powder, jaggery and allow the tomatoes to cook on medium heat.
• While the tomatoes are cooking, roast the spices. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a small heavy bottomed pan on low-medium heat. First add in the fenugreek seeds as they take longer to roast compared to the other spices used. Roast fenugreek seeds until they are golden and fragrant. Next add in the dry red chillies and roast for 30 seconds. Add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida/hing and roast for another 1-1½ minutes.
• Defrost coconut if using frozen. Cold coconut will separate fat upon blending, so coconut has to be at room temperature. Defrosting can be done by heating coconut in the microwave for 15-30 seconds.
• Add the roasted spices, coconut, tamarind, ½ cup water into a blender jar and blend into a smooth paste.
• When the tomatoes are cooked, add the coconut spice paste into the tomatoes. Add a cup of water into the blender jar, swirl and add the water into the pot.
• Taste and adjust the salt and jaggery.
• Bring the rasam to a gentle boil and simmer for 4 minutes.
• Serve hot/warm with rice.

Video

Notes

• Karnataka Byadagi or Kashmiri dry red chillies work best in this recipe.
• This saaru/rasam can be made without tomatoes. In that case, just increase the quantity of tamarind to make a ‘plain saaru’. If using lesser tomatoes than mentioned, increase the amount of tamarind accordingly. 
• The quantity of tamarind needs to be decided based on sourness of the tomatoes. I needed less than 1 gram of dry tamarind. 
• Tastes great the next day too! Store leftovers in the refrigerator and bring to a gentle boil before serving. 
• Any unrefined sugar can be used instead of jaggery.
• If gluten-intolerant, use gluten-free hing. 

Keyword tomato rasam