What is Rasam Powder?
Rasam powder is used in Indian dishes. It is similar to garam masala, though less sweet and includes spices such as cumin, coriander, pepper and fenugreek seeds. It is a little bit spicy and earthy with a brightness. Its flavors are of coriander and cumin. It is yellow-orange in color.
What does Rasam Powder Taste Like?
Sweet is one of the five main tastes. It has smooth and round notes in its flavor profile. Sweet is a naturally occurring flavor in many foods, including fruits, berries, winter squashes, sugarcane, and honey. The sweet taste in these foods is due to a higher sugar content. Sweetness is characteristic of desserts and is used as an accent in savory foods.
Spicy is a flavor that brings heat and fire to food by creating a burning sensation in the mouth or sinuses. Spicy flavors come from hot peppers, horseradish, and wasabi. Spicy adds a kick and sometimes complexity to a dish and releases endorphins, creating a mildly addictive quality.
Ingredients
Coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant. These seeds are a warm beige color with a round and slightly oblong body and a pointy, yet harmless top. The seeds taste citrusy, warm, nutty and spicy. Coriander is popular in various cuisines, including Indian and Latin cooking.
Toor dal, also called pigeon peas, or yellow lentils are a popular legume in Indian. They have a beige exterior and yellow interior. The flavor is bland and a bit nutty. They do well in heavily spiced dishes and are used in curries, soups and many other dishes.
Chana dal is a legume and related to the chickpea. It can be green, black or speckled and is split in half to create what is called chana dal, in Indian cooking. The bean is hard until boiled, where it then becomes soft. If overcooked it falls apart, but when cooked properly it has a soft texture that holds, and a mild bean flavor similar to chickpeas. It pairs well with many strong spices and is used in dishes throughout India, including soups and curries.
Cumin is a spice used in many cuisines around the world. The seed which cumin is ground from, has a thin and long body with tapered ends. Cumin is just a few millimeters in length and has a light brown or tan tone, which can look a bit grey. The flavor is spicy, earthy and nutty.
The peppercorn plant grows in tropical climate and produces tiny black fruit. The fruit is dried and become hard. At this point it is ground into a textured powder comprised of black and grey dots. It has a flavor that is spicy, pungent and sharp. Pepper is an extremely popular spice, especially in Western cuisines and lends a gentle heat to dishes. There are different varieties of black pepper and the flavor changes subtly because of this.
Botanically the chili pepper is a fruit, in culinary terms it is a vegetable. There are a number of varieties of red chili peppers. Some common ones used for spice powders and seasonings include the piri piri, cayenne, and chile de árbol, among others. Each pepper is red and has a thin skin with a thin flesh and seeds inside the middle of the pepper. The shape varies, but is often thin and tapered. The heat level varies also, depending on the type of pepper. Some are mildly hot, while other red chilies are scorching and fiery. The pepper can be used fresh in many dishes, as well as dried or powdered.
Fenugreek seeds are a small and extremely hard seed. They have a rough square shape and are smaller than an apple seed, with a beige color. When exposed to water these seeds slowly soften and offer a flavor that is sweet and nutty, much like a cross between maple and celery. Fenugreek is used in Indian cuisine as a spice and can be found in various cuisines around the world.
