Beetroot Rasam

Rasam in general is a South Indian spicy soup made with a base of kokum or tamarind stock base. Depending upon the region, recipes toggle between using kokum and tamarind. Tomatoes, jaggery, black peppercorns, dry red chillies/ red chilli powder, turmeric, curry leaves, cumin seeds, garlic, and coriander are the essence of rasam. I often like to add a little cinnamon and a few cloves for extra flavour. Also, sometimes other vegetables are added for a variation. A good rasam needs to have the perfect balance of spice, sweetness, and sourness. Adding dal/ lentils is mostly optional and more of a personal preference. Lentils add a little more body to the otherwise flowy rasam.

Rasam is known by different names across regions of South India – saaru (kannada), chaaru (telugu), and chaatambde (malyalam).

There are several variations of rasam made across South India and depending upon the additional ingredient used, rasam takes its name: huruli saaru (horsegram), nimbe hannina saaru (lemon), tomato saaru (tomato puree), karimenasina saaru (black peppercorns), moolangi saaru (white radish), nuggekai saaru (drumstick), kattina saaru (toor dal, jaggery, byadgi chilli), and hesaru kaalina saaru (green gram) are just a few of the many varieties.

Beetroots are known to be good sources of vitamins and minerals, such as folate, manganese, potassium, iron, and vitamin C. They are believed to aid heart health and improve exercising capacity.

While eating beetroots raw in salads would be the best option, they are often cooked into Beetroot Soup, buttermilk, chutneys, halwas, curries, sambar, rasam, and many more. Have you checked my recipes for Beetroot Pulao, Beetroot Dosa and Beetroot Akki Rotti yet?

The vibrant red/ purple-pink colour of the rasam is visually stimulating and also makes for a comforting meal when served with hot steamed rice. This is a chunky beetroot dal rasam because my boys like having that thickness and texture in it.

Beetroot Rasam Recipe

Serves 4
1 Cup = 150 ml

Ingredients:

For Pressure Cooking:

  • Beetroot – 1, small, 80 gm approx, 1/4 inch thick slices
  • Toor dal – 1/4 cup
  • Water – 1 cup

Others:

  • Tomato – 2, small, diced
  • Onion – 2, small, diced
  • Garlic – 8 to 10 cloves, medium, crushed
  • Oil – 2 tsp
  • Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
  • Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
  • Asafoetida – a pinch
  • Curry leaves – 8 to 10
  • Black peppercorns – 10 to 15
  • Cloves – 2 to 3
  • Cinnamon – 1/2 inch piece
  • Water – 2 cup
  • Salt – 1-1/2 tsp approx.
  • Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
  • Red chilli powder – 1/4 tsp
  • Rasam powder – 1 tbsp
  • Jaggery – 1 tbsp
  • Tamarind paste – 1 tbsp

Instructions:

1) Pressure cook toor dal and beetroot pieces for 3 whistles. I like to place beetroots in a small bowl so that it is easy to remove them and mash the dal later. Add 1-1/2 cup water to dal and 1/4 cup water to beetroots in the bowl. Ensure that toor dal is cooked very well.

2) Dice onions and tomatoes. Finely chop the coriander leaves. Crush the garlic cloves.

3) Heat oil in a saucepan. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafoetida. Allow the seeds to crackle.

4) Add black peppercorns, cinnamon stick, cloves and curry leaves. Saute for 30 seconds.

5) Add broken dry red chillies. Saute for 30 seconds.

6) Add crushed garlic.

7) Add diced onions.

8) Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well.

9) Saute until the onions become translucent.

10) Add diced tomatoes. Saute for 3-4 minutes till the tomatoes become a little mushy.

11) Add finely chopped coriander leaves. Saute for 30 seconds.

12) Add the water from the cooked toor dal.

13) Add the cooked beetroot pieces along with the water it was cooked in.

14) Add 2 cup water.

15) Mix well.

16) Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, rasam powder, and salt.

17) Add jaggery.

18) Mix well.

19) Ensure that the toor dal is cooked really well.

20) Using a whisk, soften the dal.

21) Add mashed toor dal.

22) Mix well.

23) Cover and cook. Bring to a boil while stirring occasionally.

24) Add tamarind paste and mix well. Bring to a boil. Serve hot with steamed rice, papad, and pickle for a delicious and wholesome meal.

If you happen to try this Beetroot Rasam Recipe; leave a comment, let me know how it turned out. Use in your Instagram posts – #theredplatechroniclesbymeenadanti and tag @theredplatechronicles To see more of my work, follow me on

Have a great weekend!
Love
M❤️

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