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.
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.
Add coriander seeds.
On a low heat stirring continuously roast coriander seeds until they become aromatic. Their color will also change.
Remove the coriander seeds in a plate or tray.
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.
Add tuvar dal and stirring often roast the lentils until they become golden and aromatic. Set aside.
Add black pepper and stirring non-stop roast these until you get their pungent aroma.
Next add cumin seeds and stirring often roast them until their color changes and they become aromatic.
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.
As soon as you add dry red chilies, quickly stir and begin to roast them until their color darkens.
If the pan has become too hot, then switch off the flame and continue to roast in the hot pan.
Roast until you see the color has changed and smell the pungent sharp aroma of red chilies.
Remove roasted chilies and set aside. Let the spices and lentils cool completely at room temperature.
Grinding spices and lentils
Then add the spices in a grinder jar or a spice grinder. Add turmeric powder .
Grind to a fine powder. You can grind in two batches and then mix both the batches of ground rasam powder.
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.
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.
Notes
How to use?
My rasam powder weighs 200 grams. If you make rasam once or twice a week, it will last you for about 3 months. Add 1 tablespoon of rasam powder in any rasam recipe that has a serving of 4 to 5. For a more intense, robust, spicy and stronger flavor, you can even add 1.5 tablespoons.
How to store?
A glass jar is always great to store homemade spice blends. You can even use an air-tight steel container or a steel jar. The container or jar has to be clean and dry. You can store rasam podi in a cool dry place or in the refrigerator or freezer.
More Tips
Quality of spices & lentils: Use fresh, good quality, crisp, clean and preferably organic spices. Try to use fresh lentils and not aged lentils. There should be no insects or moulds in the lentils.
Scaling: You can easily scale and make the rasam spice blend in small or large quantities according to your needs.
Pungency: Adding Kashmiri red chillies and byadagi chillies won’t make your rasam powder spicy or pungent as these chillies are less hot. If you prefer a spicy rasam powder, then add a mix of pungent, spicy red chillies and less hot chillies. I have used byadagi red chillies.
Buying spices: We can easily buy the spices and lentils in India. If you stay outside India, then you will get these ingredients in an Indian or Asian grocery store. You can also find them on amazon.
Approximate nutrition info is for 1 tablespoon of rasam powder.