Method

1. Soak the tamarind in 2 cups of water. After 15 minutes, extract juice and keep aside.
2. In a small shallow pan heat oil, then, add coriander seeds, red chilies, bengal gram dal, pepper corns. When they become reddish brown, grind to a powder.
3. Separately powder raw cumin seeds and curry leaves.
4. In the same shallow pan, add some ghee (½ teaspoon) and shallow fry garlic for a minute.
5. Add coriander seed powder and garlic to the tamarind juice, boil well in a broad vessel.
6. Add salt and curry leaves. When the rasam boils well in low heat and the smell of the rawness of tamarind is gone, add cumin seed powder.
7. It will froth up within minutes. Season with mustard and red chilies in ghee.
8. The rasam is ready to be served.
9. Most rasam can be made with a combination of old tamarind and new tamarind.
10. The new tamarind adds sourness to the rasam, while the old tamarind adds sweet taste to the rasam.
11. New tamarind gives fairly brighter colour to the rasam, while the older ones give a darker colour.
12. The older tamarind is less acidic, so if you are acidic, stick to older tamarind.
13. Tamarind can be stored in earthern pots / ceramic jaadis or glassware as they are non reactive. They can be stored in refrigerator for a longer time if bought in bulk.