Simple, practical, and full of everyday flavour, Coconut Milk Rasam is a vegan, vegetarian South Indian, Tamil Nadu main course made with simple everyday ingredients in about 30 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: South Indian, Tamil Nadu

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon tamarind (- tightly packed)
  • ½ cup hot water
  • 1.5 cups water
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 tablespoons rasam powder
  • 1 cup Coconut Milk ((Thick) - first extract or use canned coconut milk)
  • salt (as per taste)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or gingelly oil (sesame oil) or any other neutral flavored oil)
  • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 to 2 dry red chilies (- broken and seeds removed)
  • 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing))
  • 7 to 8 curry leaves
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons coriander leaves (- chopped (cilantro))

Method

Making Tamarind Extract

  1. Firstly soak 1 tablespoon tightly packed tamarind in ½ cup hot water for 20 to 30 minutes.
  2. Later squeeze the softened tamarind and extract the pulp in the water.

Making Coconut Milk Rasam

  1. In a pan pour the prepared tamarind extract. Pour 1.5 cups of water.
  2. Add the turmeric powder and rasam powder.
  3. Mix everything and keep the pan on stove top on a medium-low to medium flame.
  4. Let the rasam come to a simmer.
  5. After the rasam begins to simmer, continue to further simmer it for 2 to 3 minutes more.
  6. Then turn off the the heat. Add 1 cup thick coconut milk (first extract) and mix very well.
  7. Add salt as per taste. Mix, cover pan with lid and set it aside.

Tempering

  1. In a small pan or tadka pan, heat 2 tablespoons coconut oil. Instead of coconut oil, you can use any other oil or ghee.
  2. Keep the heat to a low and add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds. Let them crackle.
  3. Next add 1 to 2 dry red chilies (broken and seeds removed), 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) and 7 to 8 curry leaves.
  4. Stir and fry for a few seconds till the color of red chilies change and then turn off the heat.
  5. Pour all of the tempering ingredients into the rasam.
  6. Cover with lid for 3 to 4 minutes and let the tempering flavors infuse.
  7. Then lastly add 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves and mix.
  8. Serve Coconut Milk Rasam with steamed rice or enjoy it as is, like a soup.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.