Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 10 min
Serves: 4

Ingredients: (measuring cup used = 240ml)

1. 2 tomatoes
2. 1 small gooseberry sized tamarind
3. 1 tsp jaggery (as per your taste)
4. 2 tsp salt (as per your taste)
5. 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
6. 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Ingredients for grinding:

1. 3 - 5 red chillies
2. 2 tbsp toor dal
3. 1 tbsp cumin seeds
4. 1 tsp cooking oil

Ingredients for tempering:

1. 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2. 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3. A pinch of asafoetida
4. 5 - 6 curry leaves
5. 1 red chilli
6. 2 tsp ghee / cooking oil

Instructions for making jeerige saaru or jeera rasam:

1. In a pan, heat 1 tsp of oil and roast the red chillies until crisp.
2. Next add in toor dal and cumin seeds. Roast until cumin seeds start to splutter under low flame. Over roasting the cumin seeds may give bitter taste to rasam.
3. Wait until cool and powder the roasted ingredients. Set it aside.
4. Next in the same pan, heat one more tsp of oil. Add in chopped tomato, 1/4 tsp turmeric and 1/2 tsp salt. Fry for a minute.
5. Close the lid and cook the tomato until mushy.
6. If required, you can add little water to cook the tomato until mushy.
7. Add the ground masala powder and give a quick mix.
8. Add in required water. I have added around 2 cups (500ml) of water.
9. Adjust the salt level as per your taste.
10. Add in tamarind extract. Adjust the tamarind as per your taste and the sourness of the tomato.
11. Add in little jaggery. Jaggery is optional.
12. Bring it to rolling boil and switch off the stove.
13. Top it with finely chopped corinader leaves.
14. In a small skillet prepare tempering using 2 tsp of ghee, 1/2 tsp mustard, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, red chilli, asafoetida and curry leaves. Add this tempering to the rasam or saaru. Serve it with hot steaming rice.

Dear reader, We have a Kannada version of this recipe. Click here to read this recipe in Kannada.