Indian · Authentic-ish Indian
Rasam
162 kcal a serving, against 158 for the traditional version. That is -4 kcal off, or -3%, with 16.9g of protein. Serves 6. 30 minutes.
What the traditional version is
A highly acidic, watery soup made by boiling tamarind extract and crushed tomatoes with a tiny pinch of lentils. It gets its signature punch from a heavy tempering of crushed black pepper, cumin, garlic, and curry leaves sizzled in a generous pool of ghee.
What changed, and what each change costs
45g of ghee for 10g of ghee
Ghee is the traditional tempering fat that carries the spices across the broth. It smells incredible, but it's pure liquid fat. Dropping the fat down to a small splash of ghee still lets you pop the mustard seeds and fry the curry leaves without pouring useless calories into a watery soup.
What it costs you. You lose that rich, buttery aroma that normally fills the kitchen when you temper spices. The resulting broth is a bit sharper and far less rounded.
Adding 400g of raw prawns out of thin air
Rasam is traditionally a side dish. It has practically zero protein and leaves you hungry 20 minutes later. Dumping a solid load of raw prawns into the hot broth right at the end turns a flimsy soup into a filling main course. The prawns cook in minutes and soak up the sour tamarind perfectly.
What it costs you. What you've got is a loud seafood stew. A traditional rasam anymore is a different dish and you know where to find it. Purists will absolutely hate what I've done here, and the delicate balance of the original broth gets bullied by the shellfish.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 158 | 162 |
| Protein | 3.5g | 16.9g |
| Fat | 8.9g | 3.4g |
| Saturated fat | 4.7g | 1.2g |
| Carbohydrate | 18.5g | 18.5g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 2.2g | 10.4g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Indian prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. crustaceans, milk, mustard.
The method is in the book
A fiercely sour, peppery soup that now actually acts as a meal. I took away the heavy butter finish and replaced it with a solid hit of lean seafood. You still get the intense sinus-clearing heat and the tangy tamarind punch, but you walk away from the table feeling properly fed. It takes barely any time to make and delivers huge flavour.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Indian, along with 54 more. Buy the paperback