If there’s one dish I can have everyday, it’s Rasam. It is tangy, spicy, fresh and gives you all kinds of warm feelings when you have it. This instant pot tomato jeera rasam is one of current favorites because it is so simple and we end up finishing the whole thing as it is. Add generous amounts of this rasam to some cooked rice and toor dal and you have the ultimate comfort food.
For those who are not familiar with this dish – Rasam is a South Indian soup / broth made with tamarind, tomatoes and aromatic spices like coriander, cumin, pepper, chillies, asafoetida and fresh herbs like curry leaves and coriander. It is flavor packed and can be had like a soup or mixed with rice. It is a staple dish in most South Indian households and there are many versions of rasam. This instant pot tomato jeera rasam is dominated with the flavors of jeera, pepper and curry leaves, making it perfect for those suffering from cold / flu.
Now let’s talk about the main ingredient for this dish – Rasam powder
I use my mom’s homemade rasam powder for my everyday cooking. She makes a huge batch for me and my sister and sends it to us every 4 months or so. We store it in an airtight container and use it judiciously, so that we don’t run ourt of it soon. If you have your own rasam powder, you should use that, or for people wanting to buy it outside, I would suggest buying Sakthi sambar powder (It is quite close in taste to what my mom does. And did you know, Sakthi masala is made in my hometown – Erode. It is available in amazon too , which I will link in my recipe below. Other alternatives are Ambika applam brand. Even better, I will get the recipe from my mom and post it very very soon. I promise!
To be honest, I don’t make rasam in the instant pot a lot. I prefer my stovetop version because the recipe is so simple, that you don’t need an instant pot version to simplify it for you. But for people who love their instant pot, I have shared this recipe especially for you. Now let’s hop on to the recipe.
South Indian style comforting tamarind and tomato soup flavored with cumin, curry leaves, pepper and mustard.
- 2 large tomatoes pureed
-
1
tbsp
tamarind paste or 1 small gooseberry sized Tamarind
soaked in hot water
-
11/2
tsp
Sambar powder or rasam powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 fat pinches asafoetida
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 sprigs curryleaves (roughly torn)
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves
soaked in hot water
or rasam powder- 1 tsp jeera / cumin seeds
-
1
tbsp
Toor dal
- 5 to 6 black pepper corns ( use more if you like more pepper flavor)
- 5 to 7 curry leaves
- 1 tsp oil / ghee
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
- 1/8 tsp asafoetida
-
If using tamarind paste, dilute the tamarind paste with 2.5 cups of water. Otheriwse, soak the tamarind in 2.5 cups of hot water for 10 minutes and extract the juice. set it aside.
-
Add the tamarind water, tomato puree, salt, turmeric powder, sambar/ rasam powder, asafoetida, curry leaves (roughly torn) to a pan and let it boil until the raw smell of tamarind is gone in medium high flame.
-
While that is cooking, grind the ingredients mentioned under jeera paste with 1/4 cup water to a somewhat coarse paste. It does’nt have to be very smooth.
-
When the raw smell of tamarind is gone, add this ground paste to the pan and mix. Let it boil until you see it becoming frothy and bubbly. You can add more water if needed at this stage depending on how diluted you want it to be. When you see the yellow froth, switch off immediately and add some chopped coriander leaves.
-
Now make a tadka – Heat a small pan and add oil/ ghee. When it becomes hot, add the mustard, cumin and asafoetida. Let the mustard seeds splutter. Add this tadka to the rasam.
-
Serve hot with rice or as a soup.
-
If using tamarind paste, dilute the tamarind paste with 2.5 cups of water. Otheriwse, soak the tamarind in 2.5 cups of hot water for 10 minutes and extract the juice. set it aside.
-
Add the tamarind juice, tomato puree, salt, turmeric powder, curry leaves, asafoetida, sambar/ rasam powder to your instant pot and cook in manual / pressure cook mode for 8 minutes.
-
Mean while, grind the ingredients mentioned under jeera paste with 1/4 cup water to a somewhat coarse paste. It does not have to be very smooth.
-
When the tamarind mixture is done cooking, release pressure and add the ground paste to it.
-
Switch on the saute mode and let it boil until frothy and bubbly for 2 to 3 minutes. Add extra water if needed ( depending on how thin you want your rasam to be)
-
Garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves and add tadka to it. To make tadka, heat a small pan and add oil. Add the items mentioned under tadka and let the mustard seeds splutter. Add this to the rasam and mix
-
Serve hot with rice or drink it as such.
Liked this Instant pot tomato jeera Rasam?
If you tried it, do share a picture with the hashtag #cookingwithpree on Instagram or Facebook. Would love to know what you guys have been cooking
Looking for more Instant pot or Vegan recipes? Check out my Pinterest boards for inspration. Happy cooking!
This recipe is amazing. The fresh flavor actually “bursts” in your mouth!!! Bought the recommended sambar powder but I am still waiting for Pree’s mom’s rasam recipe! Thank you so much!
Thank you so much Annie!I am glad you enjoyed this dish. I promise to post my mom’s rasam powder recipe soon!!
This recipe is amazing. The fresh flavor actually “bursts” in your mouth!!! Bought the recommended sambar powder, but I am still waiting for Pree’s mom’s recipe! Thank you so much!
Super! I paired this with your chow chow kootu, made in the Instant Pot, and both dishes came out really well.
Thank u so much! I’m glad it came out well. Rasam and kootu is an awesome combo 🙂