• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Cook's Hideout
  • All Recipes
  • Recipes by Category
  • Subscribe
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Recipes by Category
  • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » easy » Lemon Rasam Recipe | South Indian Lemon Broth Soup

    Lemon Rasam Recipe | South Indian Lemon Broth Soup

    Published: Jul 24, 2016 · Modified: Jun 18, 2020 by Pavani · Leave a Comment

    193 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet
    • Yummly
    • Email
    Jump to Recipe

    Lemon Rasam is a South Indian soup made with dal, tomato and lots of lemon. Freshly made spice paste gives this brothy soup a nice kick and lots of flavor.

    Jar with Lemon Rasam

    Rasam is a quintessential side dish to most South Indian meals. It is a brothy soup that is typically made with dal (lentils). In many households, rasam podi or the spice powder is made fresh and that adds lots of flavor to the dish.

    Nimmakaya Charu | Lemon Rasam:

    Today's rasam is made with tangy lemon juice and freshly ground spice paste. There are just 3 ingredients in the spice powder:

    • Cumin seeds
    • Peppercorn
    • Green Chilies

    The ingredients are ground to a coarse texture and added to the charu/ rasam while boiling.

    Bowl and spoon with brothy soup with lemons in the background

    Difference between Andhra Rasam and Tamil Rasam:

    Rasam in Andhra is called charu/ chaaru. It is generally made with tomato and tamarind. Dal is usually not added to rasam which makes it very brothy and is usually eaten along with a thicker dal.

    But this Tamil Nadu version of rasam uses a little bit of dal for thickening. A freshly ground spice powder along with sambar powder is used to flavor the rasam. This gives a nice spicy taste to the dish.

    Lemon juice is added to make the dish tangy instead of tamarind. It is a very comforting and yummy dish that is perfect to serve with any South Indian meal.

    Other Ingredients needed:

    Toor dal is added to the rasam to make it thick and add protein. Finely chopped or pureed tomatoes are also added for tanginess and freshness. Lemon juice is the key ingredient that is highlighted by the spice paste.

    This lemon rasam Recipe is adapted from Nalini's blog. This is a comforting dish that reminds of home and mom's cooking. The rasam itself will warm you inside out and will tickle the taste buds. Serve with steamed rice and a vegetable curry for a filling and delicious meal.

    Bowl with brothy soup with lemons in the background

    Lemon Rasam

    Lemon Rasam is a South Indian soup made with dal, tomato and lots of lemon. Freshly made spice paste gives this brothy soup a nice kick and lots of flavor.
    Author: Pavani
    Print Pin Rate
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Prep Time: 15 mins
    Cook Time: 20 mins
    Total Time: 35 mins
    Course: Side Dish, soups stews
    Cuisine: south indian, tamil
    Servings: 8 servings

    Ingredients

    For Spice powder:

    • 1½ tsps Cumin seeds
    • ½ tsp Peppercorn
    • 1 ~ 2 Green Chilies

    For Lemon Rasam:

    • 2 tbsp Toor dal
    • 2 tsp Oil
    • 1 tsp Mustard seeds
    • ⅛ tsp Fenugreek seeds/ Menthulu
    • ¼ tsp Asafoetida/ Hing
    • 1 Dry Red chili
    • 8 ~ 10 Curry leaves
    • 2 Medium Tomatoes, finely chopped or ground to a paste
    • ¼ tsp Turmeric
    • ½ tsp Sambar powder
    • 2 tbsp Lemon juice
    • To taste Salt
    • 2 tbsps Cilantro, finely chopped

    Instructions

    Make Spice Paste:

    • Grind the ingredients for the spice paste coarsely.

    Make Lemon Rasam:

    • Cook dal until mushy. Add ½ cup water, mash well and keep aside.
    • In a bowl, add the chopped/ ground tomatoes, freshly ground spice powder, sambar powder, turmeric powder and salt. Stir in the cooked toor dal and cilantro.
    • In a small saucepan, heat oil, add the mustard and fenugreek seeds and once the seeds start to splutter, add asafoetida, dry red chili and curry leaves.
    • Add the tomato-toor dal mixture and bring to a boil.
    • Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice.
    • Sprinkle some cilantro and cover the pot and let sit for a few minutes before serving. Serve hot with steamed rice and curry.

    Notes

    • Toor dal can be used in a pressure cooker/ Instant pot or simply boil the lentils with enough water until cooked through and mushy.
    • Toor dal can be subbed with Red Lentils that are readily available in grocery stores.
    • It is best to make the spice paste fresh before making the rasam.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @cooks_hideout or tag #cookshideout!

    How to serve this Lemon Rasam:

    Serve the rasam with hot steamed rice. Here are a few more recipe ideas to serve for a yummy South Indian meal:

    • Potato Curry
    • Roasted Pumpkin Sambar
    • Avocado Tomato Chutney
    • Mor Kuzhambu
    Lemon Rasam

    « Avocado-Palak Roti
    Vegan Condensed Milk »
    193 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet
    • Yummly
    • Email

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Srividhya Gopalakrishnan

      July 25, 2016 at 12:08 am

      yummy rasam. Can drink that entire pot. Between love that serveware. very nice.

      Reply
    2. vaishali sabnani

      July 25, 2016 at 2:27 am

      Drooling over the rasam Pavani..looks so tempting, being a great fan of rasam I should try it right away.

      Reply
    3. Srivalli

      July 26, 2016 at 5:27 am

      The pictures are fabulous Pavani...I always end up making one type of rasam and must include this more..very nicely prepared!

      Reply
    4. www.annapurnaz.in

      July 28, 2016 at 1:03 pm

      Wanna taste it right know...seems quite relishing

      Reply
    5. Smruti Shah

      July 30, 2016 at 11:01 pm

      I am in love with the clicks in this post!! So beautiful. The recipe of course is great too!

      Reply
    6. Siri

      July 31, 2016 at 8:45 pm

      For me, when it comes to cooking a simple recipe trumps all others!. I love rasam and no wonder I bookmarked it to try sometime soon!Great recipe Nalini and beautiful photographs Pavani.Siri

      Reply
    7. Priya Suresh

      August 04, 2016 at 1:10 pm

      My all time favourite rasam, comforting food definitely.

      Reply
    8. Usha Rao

      August 05, 2016 at 6:51 pm

      Rasam is so inviting. Even we don't add any dal to rasam.

      Reply
    9. Nalini's Kitchen

      August 06, 2016 at 2:08 am

      Thanks for the mention Pavani,rasam looks so delicious and yummy..Nice clicks and like your rasam pot and ladle..

      Reply

    Thanks for coming! Let me know what you think: Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Welcome, All!!

    Hello, I am Pavani, the cook in this hideout. Cook's Hideout is all about delicious vegetarian dishes from India and also from around the world. Here you will find recipes that are easy AND tasty to make. More about me...

    My Cookbooks

    Front page for Vegetarian Indian Instant Pot Cookbook

    My Cookbooks

    My Web Stories

    Check out my web stories here...

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Subscribe

    Contact

    • About

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2020 Foodie Pro on the Foodie Pro Theme

    193 shares