Description

Rassam masala is built around black pepper and cumin rather than the sweet aromatics. Toor dhal is roasted and ground into the blend, which gives the broth body without thickening it.

For a standard pot, simmer tamarind water and tomato, add a heaped teaspoon of the masala, and finish with a mustard seed and curry leaf tempering in ghee. It should stay thin — rassam is poured over rice or drunk from a cup, not spooned like a dhal.

It is the pot most families reach for when someone has a cold. The pepper is the point.