South Indian Rasam Powder Recipe

Rasam Masala Recipe

Rasam Powder is a spice mix used in the South Indian home everyday as rasam is made almost everyday. This spice mix is also referred to as Rasam masala / rasam pudi /rasam podi / Mensina Pudi or sarina pudi(kannada).

You can buy the ready powder but then you are missing the fun and the lovely aroma of the freshly made rasam pudi.

The powder can be prepared and stored for 6 to 12 months or even longer. So it is worth taking the trouble.

Another advantage of making it at home is you can vary the amount of spices according to your own preferences.

You can also control the hot spices according to your family's taste.

If you like less hotness, reduce the red chilies and the black pepper quantities. I love cumin seeds and like to add them a bit more.

If you are living in India, You can also get it ground to fine powder in a flour mill. Generally they have a separate mill for grinding the spices.

If you are making this in large quantity, it is better and easier to get the rasam masala spices ground at the mill than grinding at home in a mixer.

Rasam is generally made using pigeon pea, called toor dal or tuvar dal or arhar dal in Indian language.

It is a side dish served as a soup or with plain rice. Making this rasam powder in advance will help you in getting your rasam done fast.

There are many varieties of rasam, such as plain rasam, Mysore rasam, tomato rasam, lime rasam, pineapple rasam, pepper rasam etc. and you can use the powder below to make all those varieties of rasam.

This spice mix can also be used for some curries such as onion curry or tomato curry. It can also be used to make some vegetable fry recipes.

How to make South Indian Rasam Powder

Main ingredients for rasam masala powder

Coriander- dhania seeds

Cumin seeds - Jeera - Zeera

Black pepper - Kali mirch

Red chili powder - Lal mirch powder

Ingredients for Rasam Masala Powder:

Coriander seeds(dhania) - 1 cup
Cumin seeds(jeera) - 3 tablespoons
Black pepper seeds (kali mirch) - 1 table spoon
Red chili (lal mirch) powder - 3 table spoons
Mustard seeds (rai) - 1 1/2 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds (methi) - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder (haldi) - 1 teaspoon
Asafetida (hing) - 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves - 2 table spoons

Making Rasam Powder:

Dry roast all the items separately on low flame except turmeric and asafetida . Do not let the spices burn.
Grind together with turmeric and asafetida to a fine powder.
Store in an airtight jar.

You can use this rasam powder as and when you want for up to one year.

Tips

Keeping the ingredients in the hot sun for a couple of hours will reduce the roasting time. This is easily done if you live in a hot place like India.
You may use dry red chilies instead of red chili powder if you wish.
The final color of your rasam masala powder will depend on the amount of chilies and black pepper added and the roasting of spices.

Enjoy