Garlic Pepper Rasam / Miriyala Charu
A south Indian delicacy that is tangy, spicy, peppery, garlicky and delicious to its core. Technically, you should eat the Garlic Pepper Rasam or Miriyala Charu with rice but its so flavorful that you cannot stop slurping it as is.. its so freaking awesome! Miriyalu meanu Peppercorns and Charu means Rasam or broth in Telugu, so Miriyala Charu translates to Pepper Rasam.
A few things to know about Garlic Pepper Rasam:
Rasam is a spicy, tangy South Indian broth made out of tamarind, tomatoes, pepper and spices. It tastes delicious, aids digestion and is a comfort food. Rasam is a perfect cold remedy, soothes your throat and opens up your nasal passages. Its the most basic thing on any south Indian menu and served with rice and a vegetable stir fry side. Its a perfect soup to slurp on chilly winter nights.
There are many variations of rasam depending on different regions of India. Most versions of rasam have tomatoes and rasam powders and spices. A rasam powder typically contains lentils, peppers, cumin, dried chili peppers and some more spices. But, this rasam from Andhra Pradesh uses no tomato and as the name suggests, uses basic things like garlic, pepper, cumin and tamarind. Its a regular dish in my house, especially during this quarantine when fresh vegetables were limited. The Rasam gets done in 20-30 min and stays good for 2-3 days in refrigerator.
Yes! Rasam is an amazing remedy for cold and coughs. Its helps with digestion and is basically the first food for babies. We put turmeric and Black pepper in this rasam which makes it an immunity booster. Black pepper has an alkaloid called piperine which helps curcumin in turmeric to be absorbed into the body. Turmeric alone cannot provide the necessary health benefits. Thus, making this recipe a perfect recipe for winters or during the flu season. We make it quite often these days.
What Ingredients are used to make this rasam?
Usually, Rasam is made with rasam powder which has ton of ingredients but this recipe uses a fresh masala made with only 3 ingredients, Garlic, pepper and cumin. The garlic-pepper-cumin masala is traditionally made in a mortar pestle but I am using a spice grinder to make a coarse paste here. We make our base broth using Tamarind and add a simple tempering of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dried red chili and in true south Indian style, curry leaves. I also like adding cooked and mashed Toor dal to thicken my rasam.
How to store the Garlic Pepper Rasam?
You can keep this in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. The rasam thickens a bit, Add a little water, heat it up on the stove-top and bring to a rolling boil.
What do we eat Miriyala Charu with?
Typically, Charu is served with pappu(dal), ghee and hot, steaming white rice… delicious!😋 But you can take it as soup and just slurp it by bowlful, that what my kid does 😀 However you eat, eat it piping hot!
How to make the Garlic Pepper Rasam?
Getting everything ready:
- In an instant pot or pressure cooker, boil 2 tablespoons of toor dal with 1 cup water. Once its cooked, mash with a spoon and keep it aside.
- Soak the tamarind in a cup of water and microwave for 1 min to make the tamarind soft. Squeeze the tamarind to extract the pulp, strain and keep the tamarind pulp aside.
- Dry roast the peppercorns and cumin seeds for 1 minute or until the cumin becomes aromatic. Transfer to a blender jar and let them cool down.
- Add garlic cloves to the blender and make a coarse paste.
Add tempering and making rasam:
- In a large pot, add oil and when its hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dried red chili and sauté for a minute. Add curry leaves and green chili.
- Next, Add tamarind pulp and 3 cups water and let the rasam to start boiling.
- Then, add turmeric, salt, mashed toor dal, garlic-pepper-cumin masala paste and bring to a rolling boil.
- Add chopped cilantro to finish off the rasam.
Rasam is usually paired with the following dals:
Garlic Pepper Rasam
Spicy, Peppery, Tangy and comforting South Indian Rasam or broth.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Peppercorns or as per taste
- 1 tablespoon Cumin Seeds
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 lime sized Tamarind ball
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons Toor dal
- Cilantro or Coriander leaves for garnish.
For Tempering:
- 2 tablespoons Avocado oil / any oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 dried red chili
- 5-6 curry leaves
- 3 Thai green chili
Instructions
Prepping for Rasam and making the masala:
- In a small bowl, add toor dal, rinse and add 1 cup water. Put the bowl on a trivet in your Instant pot insert and pressure cook for 8 minutes, NPR.
- Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of water and microwave for 1 min to make the tamarind soft. Squeeze the tamarind to extract the pulp and keep the tamarind pulp aside.
- Dry roast the peppercorns and cumin seeds for 1 minute or until the cumin becomes aromatic. Transfer to a blender jar and let them cool down.
- Add garlic cloves to the blender and make a coarse paste.
Making the Rasam:
- In a large pot, add oil and when its hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dried red chili and sauté for a minute. Add curry leaves and green chili.
- Add tamarind pulp and 3 cups water and bring it a boil.
- Add turmeric, salt, mashed toor dal, garlic-pepper-cumin masala paste and bring to a rolling boil.
- Add chopped cilantro to finish off the rasam.
Notes
- Spice in this rasam is from the pepper corns, so adjust the spice according to your taste.
- I am using Instant pot to cook my toor dal, .you can use a pressure cooker and boil it till its soft and mashy.
- Instead of a blender, you can use a mortal pestle to make the garlic-pepper-cumin masala.
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