A soothing and nourishing South Indian Kadala Rasam made with black chickpea stock water. Light, comforting, and perfect with rice or as a warm, restorative soup.
Rasam is truly one of my all-time favorite dishes, and I can never seem to get enough of it. With over 20 rasam recipes already on my blog, I’m excited to add one more to the collection. There’s something incredibly comforting about a bowl of rasam — whether you sip it like a soup or mix it with rice and pair it with kootu or poriyal.
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For those who are new to rasam, let me quickly explain. Rasam is a traditional South Indian soup that can be prepared with or without lentils. This version follows the same classic spice base but uses black chickpea stock water for an added layer of flavor.
Why Use Black Chickpea Stock
Black chickpeas are a staple in many Indian kitchens. Whenever I make kuzhambu or curries, I usually reuse the cooking water. But when I prepare sundal or chaat, I save that flavorful stock and transform it into a soothing rasam — similar to the way we make kollu rasam.
For this recipe, cook the chickpeas using your preferred method and reserve about one to two cups of the stock. I’ve used one cup here. You can also mash a few cooked chickpeas and add them to the rasam if you like a slightly thicker texture. As I also used toor dal, I didn’t use mashed chickpeas.
This rasam is a gentle, comforting broth made with chickpea stock and aromatic spices. It’s light on the stomach, easy to digest, and perfect for everyday meals — especially when you’re craving something warm and soothing.
Ingredients Required
This rasam is made using a combination of black chickpea stock, a freshly ground spice mixture, cooked toor dal, and a gentle tempering. You will need:
- Black chickpeas (kala chana) — soaked and pressure-cooked, with the nutritious stock water reserved for the rasam
- Toor dal — cooked and lightly mashed to give body and flavor
- Tomatoes, curry leaves, garlic, and cilantro — for freshness, aroma, and depth
- Cumin seeds, whole pepper, and rasam powder — the core spice base
- Tamarind paste — for mild tanginess
- Salt and water — to balance and adjust consistency
- Ghee or oil with mustard seeds and cumin seeds — for the final tempering
Please check the recipe card for exact measurements.
Serving Suggestions & Storage
Serve this rasam with steamed rice, a drizzle of ghee, and your favorite vegetable sides for a comforting meal. It also works beautifully as a light soup or digestive drink, especially when you’re craving something warm and soothing. Garnish with fresh cilantro for extra aroma and freshness.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days. When reheating, warm it gently on low heat and avoid boiling to preserve the delicate flavors.
Dietary Notes & Recipe Specifications
- Naturally Gluten-Free
This recipe is naturally gluten-free. I have not used asafoetida (hing) in this version, making it suitable for those avoiding gluten or packaged spice mixes containing wheat. - Vegan Option
The rasam can be made fully vegan by using oil instead of ghee for the tempering. Sesame oil or coconut oil both work beautifully.
How To Make Kadala Rasam
- Add soaked black chickpeas, turmeric powder, and 2 cups of water to a pressure cooker. Cook for 3 whistles, then let the pressure release naturally. Then reserve 1 cup of stock water.
- Similarly, Pressure-cook 2 tbsp of toor dal with ½ cup water until soft. Mash lightly and set aside. You can pressure-cook using the pot-in-pot method and cook both toor dal and chickpeas at the same time. I didn’t show it in the video because I used my frozen toor dal. Took ¼ cup and diluted it with ½ cup of water.
- Grind curry leaves, cilantro, half a tomato, garlic, cumin, pepper, rasam powder, tamarind paste, and ½ cup water to a smooth paste.
- Add the ground paste to your cooking vessel (or eeya sombu). Stir in 1 cup of water, salt, chopped tomato, and 10 garlic cloves. Simmer gently until the garlic softens.
- Add the mashed toor dal, followed by chickpea stock water and 2 cups of water. Heat until the rasam turns frothy on top. Do not boil.
- Heat ghee or oil, splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds, and pour over the rasam. Rest for a minute and serve warm.
Recipe Notes & Variations
- With mashed chickpeas: Mash a few cooked chickpeas into the rasam for a heartier texture.
- No garlic version: Skip garlic and increase pepper for a sattvic-style rasam.
- Spicier rasam: Add extra pepper or a pinch of red chilli powder.
- Oil-free/vegan: Temper in peanut, sesame, or any neutral oil instead of ghee.
- Without toor dal: You can totally skip toor dal and add more water.
- You can play with the measurements of rasam powder. You use 2 tsp and add 1 tsp of red chili powder, or you can even use sambar powder instead of rasam powder.
More Rasam Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Black Chickpea Rasam (Kadala Rasam with Chickpea Stock)
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;
To Pressure Cook
- ¾ cup black chickpeas soaked overnight
- ⅛ tsp turmeric powder
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp toor dal
- ½ cup water
To Grind
- 50 g tomato half of a medium tomato
- 15 curry leaves
- 5 cloves garlic
- ½ cup cilantro
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1.25 tsp whole pepper
- 3 tsp rasam powder
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
- ½ cup water for grinding
Other Ingredients
- 3 cups water divided
- 2 tsp salt adjust to taste
- ½ tomato chopped
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 cup chickpea stock water
To Temper
- 1 tsp ghee or oil
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
Instructions
- Add soaked black chickpeas, turmeric powder, and 2 cups of water to a pressure cooker. Cook for 3 whistles, then let the pressure release naturally. Then reserve 1 cup of stock water.
- Similarly, Pressure-cook 2 tbsp of toor dal with ½ cup water until soft. Mash lightly and set aside. You can pressure-cook using the pot-in-pot method and cook both toor dal and chickpeas at the same time. I didn’t show it in the video because I used my frozen toor dal. Took ¼ cup and diluted it with ½ cup of water.
- Grind curry leaves, cilantro, half a tomato, garlic, cumin, pepper, rasam powder, tamarind paste, and ½ cup water to a smooth paste.
- Add the ground paste to your cooking vessel (or eeya sombu). Stir in 1 cup of water, salt, chopped tomato, and 10 garlic cloves. Simmer gently until the garlic softens.
- Add the mashed toor dal, followed by chickpea stock water and 2 cups of water. Heat until the rasam turns frothy on top. Do not boil.
- Heat ghee or oil, splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds, and pour over the rasam. Rest for a minute and serve warm.
Notes
- With mashed chickpeas: Mash a few cooked chickpeas into the rasam for a heartier texture.
- No garlic version: Skip garlic and increase pepper for a sattvic-style rasam.
- Spicier rasam: Add extra pepper or a pinch of red chilli powder.
- Oil-free/vegan: Temper in peanut, sesame, or any neutral oil instead of ghee.
- Without toor dal: You can totally skip toor dal and add more water.
- You can play with the measurements of rasam powder. You use 2 tsp and add 1 tsp of red chili powder, or you can even use sambar powder instead of rasam powder.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Sri:
Made this rasam today. Everyone enjoyed it. Thanks!
Thank you so much pa. Really appreciate your feedback.
Tried this black chickpea rasam today, loved the flavours! Does it pair well with idli?
I wouldn’t pair rasam with idli. May be my kadala kuzhambu will be best with idli.