Lemon rasam - A delicious South Indian thin lentil soup or broth flavored with lemon instead of tamarind. Lemon rasam recipe flavored with cilantro and mint with step-wise pictures!
Wash the toor dal and pressure cook the dal by adding 1 cup of water and ⅛ tsp of turmeric powder and mash it well. I used my stove-top pressure cooker and cooked for three whistles. If using Instant Pot, cook for 8 to 10 minutes and release the pressure naturally.
Assemble-
Take the vessel in which you are going to prepare the rasam. Add 3 cups of water and then add the rasam powder, salt, jaggery, tomato, curry leaves, and ½ tbsp of cilantro.
Mix them well. I mash it well with my hand. Check for salt taste and adjust.
Simmer the rasam-
Now let the rasam simmer in medium heat.
Once it starts to boil, add the mashed toor dal and mix well.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer when it becomes frothy on top, turn off the heat.
Add lemon juice, cilantro, and mint-
Now add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and gently mix.
Add the remaining cilantro and mint leaves and cover the rasam pot with a lid. Let the flavors infuse for five minutes.
Temper the rasam-
In a separate tadka pan, heat the ghee or oil, and when it is hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and hing.
When the mustard seeds splutter, turn off the heat and add it to the rasam.
Serve hot with rasam or as a soup with papad.
Notes
I have used my homemade rasam powder for this recipe. You can prepare fresh rasam powder like in my cumin pepper rasam and use that instead.
You can add a tsp of freshly grated ginger as well for this rasam.
Adjust the salt and spice according to your preference.
Add the herbs as per your taste.
Please check the post regarding reheating the rasam and how to store it. Do not heat it again and again.
For lemon rasam, some might not add tomato, but I usually add. If your tomato is tangy, adjust the lemon juice accordingly.