Milagu jeera rasam sadam is a spicy and brothy rice dish. The soupy rasam is flavored with cumin, black peppercorn, tomatoes, and tamarind and is poured over fluffy rice for a hearty meal.
What is rasam?
Rasam is a South Indian tomato and tamarind based brothy soup that is popular in Tamil Nadu. It is commonly ladled over sadam or rice for a warm and hearty meal. When I am sick, rasam is my go to. I just sip on it to help relieve an achy throat and the warm spices help clear out those sinuses.
There are so many different varieties of rasam out there from parappu (lentil) rasam to pineapple rasam. For these rasams, it is common to use a rasam powder to flavor the broth. This is a spice blend that definitely comes in handy and when it is a homemade recipe it makes a good rasam great!
Simple rasam without rasam powder
This rasam recipe does not use rasam powder; instead, it uses Milagu and jeera. Milagu and jeera, which translate from Tamil to cumin and black pepper, are slightly toasted to bring out their essential oils and then ground to make a flavorful broth.
This rasam allows these these two ingredients to shine and creates a quick and easy soup packed with earthy and spicy flavors. Of course, I love to pour it over some basmati rice so the rice can absorb all the delicious goodness. My favorite way to enjoy rasam sadam is with copious amounts of rasam, a dollop of ghee for richness, and a side of masala roasted potatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don't have tamarind pulp, you can substitute ~2Tbs of lemon juice or 1 teaspoon of tamarind concentrate to help mimic the sour taste. You can read more about tamarind in this blog post.
You can use any tomatoes that are in season. I mostly use roma tomatoes because they are easy to cut up and drop into the rasam. On special occasions, I use cherry tomatoes because they are slightly sweeter in taste and add a pop of yellow and orange color to my rasam.
Those who are Iyengars, Bhramins, and Jains often do not consume garlic and onions. So for this recipe, just omit the garlic and add a pinch of hing as a substitute.
Yes! You can absolutely make this rasam in an instant pot. Just use the saute functionality on your instant pot and follow the instructions as stated.
For rasam sadam it is traditional to use Indian medium-long grain varieties of rice like basmati or ponni rice. Jasmine rice also tastes great with this dish. Avoid short grain rices like sushi and arborio rices for this dish.
You can; however, note that the dish won't be as flavorful when using powders in place of seeds. This is because once the seeds are ground, they start losing their flavor, so it is best to toast and grind the seeds right before making the dish for maximum flavor. The exact substitution amounts are listed in the notes section of the recipe card!
Milagu Jeera Rasam Sadam | Spicy Rasam Rice
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Milagu jeera rasam sadam is a spicy and brothy rice dish. The soupy rasam is flavored with cumin, black peppercorn, tomatoes, and tamarind and is poured over fluffy rice for a hearty meal.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp - Black Peppercorn
- 1 tsp - Cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp - Coriander Seeds
- 1 Tbs plus 2 teaspoon - Vegetable Oil
- 4-5 - Garlic Cloves
- 2 - Roma Tomatoes finely chopped or ~20 cherry tomatoes cut in half (180g)
- 1 Tbs plus 1 teaspoon - Kosher Salt, plus more to taste (will be less if using table salt)
- ½ cup - Tamarind Water made from 10g of tamarind pulp (Check out this post on making tamarind water)
- 3 cups - Water
- ¼ tsp - Mustard Seeds
- ½ tsp - Cumin Seeds
- 2 - Whole Dried Red Chilies
- 4-5 - Curry Leaves
- ¼ tsp - Hing or asafetida
- 2 cups - Basmati Rice, cooked (Optional For Serving)
- Cilantro for garnish, chopped (Optional)
Instructions
- In a small pan on medium heat, dry roast the black peppercorn, cumin seeds, and coriander seeds for 1-2 minutes, making sure to periodically stir until you see the cumin and coriander seeds brown slightly. Grind the spices with either a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. The spices can be coarsely ground; they do not need to be a fine powder. Set the spice mixture in a bowl to the side.
- In the mortar and pestle, add the four garlic cloves and pound into a coarse paste. In a medium pot on medium heat add 2 tsps of oil. Next, add the garlic and sauté until the garlic softens (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add tomatoes and salt. Mix to incorporate and allow the skin on the tomatoes to wrinkle and soften (about 2-3 minutes). Add water to the tomato mixture and increase the the heat to medium-high.
- Pour the tamarind water along with the 3 cups of water into the pot and increase heat to medium-high. Allow the rasam to come to a rolling boil. Once the rasam has come to boil, turn off the heat, add the ground spice mixture, and stir.
- Make the thalipu or tadka: In a small pan on medium-high heat add 1 Tbs of oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilis, curry leaves, and asofetida and temper the spices. When the spices start dancing in the oil and you hear popping noises, it is time to pour the flavored spices and oil into the rasam. This step goes pretty quickly so make sure you have all your ingredients ready and make sure not to burn the spices or else it will impart a bitter taste to the rasam.
- Add chopped cilantro to add a fresh herbal finish. You can either enjoy the rasam as a brothy soup on its own or ladle it over some basmati rice for a more substantial meal.
- Taste; adjust for salt. Scoop a mound full of sadam aka rice in a bowl and ladle as much rasam as you desire over it. Optionally garnish with cilantro!
Notes
- If you are looking for tamarind substitutes, check out this blog post for tamarind substitutes
- If you want to substitute cumin, coriander, and black peppercorn powder in place of whole seeds, the amounts are: 1 teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon pepper powder, ½ teaspoon of coriander powder. Just remember that using powder will not be as flavorful as freshly toasting and grinding the spices yourself.
- The rasam rice goes great with masala roasted potatoes!
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
Keywords: Milagu Jeera Rasam Sadam | Spicy Rasam Rice
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