Milagu (pepper) rasam is my favorite to eat during lunch especially during cold season. I had been making this rasam almost daily for the past 15 days or so to combat my son’s cold and sore throat due to coughing. It really works wonders if you have a bad cough. More than having it with rice, I love to sip it directly from a mug and that too piping hot. Many have different ways of doing this rasam as the recipe differs from region to region. In my home, we do not add tamarind, dal, rasam powder to make this as we usually do for making rasam.
The reason is, according to Ayurveda, black pepper corn (milagu) as in itself is a heat inducing substance to our body and so is tamarind. So we do not use both equally in this rasam. As we do not use dal, there is no body to the rasam to make it thicker, so it’s more watery like a thin clear soup.
I also recommend using ghee (clarified butter) for tempering the rasam, especially if you are going to drink it for cold and making it for your kids. Unlike Pepper, ghee cools down your body and heals your throat and stomach from the ulcers that might have formed due to coughing. So both pepper and ghee together will work magic when had as its meant to be. You can also mix in a few drops of ghee before you drink or add a dash of ghee to hot rice before serving with rasam.
Milagu (Pepper) Rasam Recipe
Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 10 mins | Serves: 2
Recipe Cuisine: South Indian | Recipe Category: Soups
Recipe Cuisine: South Indian | Recipe Category: Soups
Ingredients:
- Tomato – 1
- Garlic – 2 pods
- Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
- Asafetida (Perungayam/hing) – 1/8 tsp
- Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
- Curry leaves – 1 sprig
- Black pepper corns – 3 tsp
- Cumin seeds – 2 tsp
- Salt – to taste
- Oil / ghee – 2 tsp
Instructions:
- Heat a pan and dry roast black pepper corns and cumin seeds till the aroma arises. Let it cool. Transfer to a mixie jar and grind it to a coarse powder. You can also use your mortar and pestle. Chop the tomato finely. Add it to, 2 cups of water and mash it well with your hands.
- Crush the garlic pods and keep aside. Heat a pan with oil or ghee. Add mustard seeds and when it splutters, add asafetida, crushed garlic, curry leaves, 1/2 tsp of the ground pepper-cumin powder and roast for 10 seconds.
- Now add the pulpy tomato water, turmeric powder, salt. Mix well and let it come to a boil. Now add the rest of the pepper-cumin powder and let it boil for a 4-5 minutes over medium flame. The rasam will get reduced slightly by this time.
- Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve piping hot with rice and vendakkai curry.
Notes:
- I do not add rasam or sambar powder to make this rasam as the heat of the pepper is enough to make this rasam hot and spicy.
- Do not boil the rasam any longer than 5 minutes. The more the rasam cooks, the more rancid it will taste. It will only increase your acidic symptoms if you are prone to acidity.