Rasam powder is a finely ground aromatic spice mix that is used to make rasam which is a soupy spiced tangy drink. This homemade rasam powder recipe gives you a robust rasam podi that will bring a lot of flavors and taste into your rasam.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 8 minutes
  • Cook time: 12 minutes
  • Total time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 200 · 200 grams rasam powder
  • Category: Spice Blend
  • Cuisine: South Indian, Tamil Nadu

Ingredients

  • 1 heaped cup coriander seeds (- 70 grams)
  • 2 tablespoons chana dal (- 30 grams (split and husked bengal gram))
  • 5 tablespoons tuvar dal (- 60 grams arhar dal (pigeon pea lentils))
  • 2 tablespoons whole black pepper (- 20 grams)
  • 2 tablespoons cumin seeds (- 15 grams)
  • 15 to 16 byadagi red chilies (- 20 grams or 1 cup broken dry red chilies)
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder (- optional)

Method

Roasting spices and lentils

  1. Keep all the spices and lentils ready before you begin. Take a heavy wok or kadai or a frying pan and heat it. Keep the heat to a low.
  2. Add coriander seeds.
  3. On a low heat stirring continuously roast coriander seeds until they become aromatic. Their color will also change.
  4. Remove the coriander seeds in a plate or tray.
  5. Now add chana dal in the same kadai or pan. Stirring continuously roast chana dal until their color changes and they become golden. Set aside.
  6. Add tuvar dal and stirring often roast the lentils until they become golden and aromatic. Set aside.
  7. Add black pepper and stirring non-stop roast these until you get their pungent aroma.
  8. Next add cumin seeds and stirring often roast them until their color changes and they become aromatic.
  9. Lastly add byadagi red chilies. I have broken the red chilies and removed the seeds. If you do this method, then you will need 1 cup broken dry red chilies.
  10. As soon as you add dry red chilies, quickly stir and begin to roast them until their color darkens.
  11. If the pan has become too hot, then switch off the flame and continue to roast in the hot pan.
  12. Roast until you see the color has changed and smell the pungent sharp aroma of red chilies.
  13. Remove roasted chilies and set aside. Let the spices and lentils cool completely at room temperature.

Grinding spices and lentils

  1. Then add the spices in a grinder jar or a spice grinder. Add turmeric powder.
  2. Grind to a fine powder. You can grind in two batches and then mix both the batches of ground rasam powder.
  3. Add the rasam powder in a glass jar. Seal with an airtight lid. Store at room temperature. You can even store rasam podi in the fridge or freezer.
  4. Use rasam powder to make any rasam recipe. For a rasam of 4 to 5 servings, you can add 1 tablespoon of this rasam podi.

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.