Rasam powder – How to make Udupi style sarina pudi

Udupi style rasam powder recipe with step by step photos and video. This is the most requested recipe by my blog readers. We call this as sarina pudi in Kannada.

This recipe is vegan and gluten-free. A typical homemade condiment and must have masala powder in every kitchen of coastal Karnataka.

Tomato rasam or saru (as we call in Kannada language) is a tangy lentil spicy tomato soup. Rasam is a part of south Indian cuisine served with hot rice and ghee. Rasam powder gives flavour and spice to rasam. Preparing rasam powder at home takes very less time and free of harmful preservative.

Indian kitchen is treasure of many spice blends like garam masala, goda masala, sambar powder, bisibele bath powder, vangi bath powder, palya powder, different variety of chutney pudi, panch phoran masala, achari masala, dhansak masala, chaat masala.

Rasam is an integral part of South Indian cuisine

Every region in south of India has its own spice blend for rasam powder, but the basic spices remain the same with few addition or deletion.

South Canara region of Karnataka by itself has a diverse group of community which follows different traditional and modified rasam powder recipes. Every family in this part of the region follows its ancestral way of making rasam powder.

Across the coastal Karnataka, most of the rasam recipes do not use black pepper as compared to other states of South India.

The recipe which I am giving here is the ones that has been followed by our family ancestor’s native to Udupi district from Karnataka. Before marriage I never knew the art of making tomato rasam using rasam powder.

After I was married to a family with cooking background as my father-in-law was a head cook and had his own cooking business. This is how I started loving the flavour of freshly ground rasam powder. On a lighter note, I call my family “rasam family”. They can drink and eat rasam with rice on any given day.

Every three days a week we prepare tomato rasam at home. The use of freshly ground powder in tomato rasam takes it to next level with kitchen smelling so aromatic.

I am quite sure you guys will like this aromatic Udupi style rasam powder as much as we like it – make sure to watch the video here and subscribe to my channel 

If you are looking for more homemade condiments, then check the below recipes which are easy and fuss free.

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Variety of red chilies used to prepare rasam powder

Clean, moisture free, fresh pest free red chilies should be used in preparing the Udupi style rasam powder. These red chilies should be sun-dried for 2 to 3 hours.

The benefits of sun drying are it helps to remove any little moisture in red chilies and helps in quick frying process.

The commonly used red chilies are bydagi variety. This variety is mildly spice and you can adjust the numbers as per your preference.

In this recipe I have used only bydagi variety which are mildly spicy so the rasam powder is not too spicy kind of condiment. Typically, in coastal Karnataka bydagi red chilies are used commonly. So, this is also used in Udupi style rasam powder.

The colour of the rasam powder mainly depends on the variety of red chilies. The frying of red chilies in coconut oil also imparts colour to the rasam powder.

If you want to increase the level of spiciness add more chilies. The alternative to increase the spice or hot level is by using very few guntur red chilies (these are spicy red chilly variety) with the basic bydagi chilies.

Before frying, red chilies can be broken into two halves, this makes easy powdering of masala in the blender.

Which oil to be used in Udupi style rasam powder recipe?

This is the main subject of discussion. The oil used here imparts flavour to this homemade condiment. The freshness and shelf life of rasam powder depends solely on the quality of oil.

The oil used in the recipe is coconut oil. If you are not comfortable with the flavour of coconut oil, then you can change to any refined oil. But coconut oil is highly recommended to get the authentic flavour in in this recipe.

If refined oil is used other than coconut oil, then I recommend use slightly lesser in quantity.

Coconut oil should be fresh, in villages coconut oil is freshly extracted from dry coconut and used while preparing this masala. Here I have used a freshly brought coconut oil. Check for the viability and taste of coconut oil before using it.

If the coconut oil is spoilt or about to be spoiling, then the whole process of preparing this masala will be a complete waste.

If you find the quantity of coconut oil used in the recipe is slightly more, then this can be reduced by a tablespoon. But roasting the spices in coconut oil is an important step, as this gives the color and aroma to the rasam powder.

Which are the important spices used in rasam powder recipe?

The first and foremost important step in preparing any spice blend is to clean and check for any dust or bugs in the spices.

In this recipe you require basic spices methi seeds or menthya, cumin or jeera, coriander seeds or sabut dhania along with coconut oil and red chilies.

Here is the link to coriander seeds and cumin or jeera I use in my cooking and would highly recommend

After assembling the spices next important tip is to do exact measurement of spices as mentioned in the recipe. This ensures that you get a perfect flavor.

For example, if by mistake you add more of methi seeds, then the entire batch of masala becomes bitter in taste. So please be careful in measuring the spices.

Roasting the spices in coconut oil is next important tip. All the spices should be properly fried on low heat to ensure the flavor of each spice to be released into oil.

Do not burn the spices while frying in coconut oil. Frying the spices to perfection is the key to good aromatic rasam powder.

How to store rasam powder?

In our family, we are taught to prepare the homemade condiments in small batches to retain the freshness of rasam powder.

Always store the freshly ground powder in a clean, airtight dry glass jars. Clean wash the glass jar with lid using a mild detergent, wash well with water, wipe, sun dry the jar for an hour to make it moisture free.

This rasam masala can be stored for one month and even refrigerated for next more month. I always prefer to prepare fresh stock to enjoy the flavour and taste of ground masala.

How to use rasam powder in cooking?

Rasam powder as the name suggests it is used in preparing tomato rasam or tomato saru. This rasam is seasoned with coconut oil or ghee, asafoetida and curry leaves with perfect blend of tanginess, sweetness and spiciness.

The other option of using rasam powder is in huli or sambar masala. Fry a spoon each of chana dal and urd dal with curry leaves, make a fine paste with this rasam powder, fresh grated coconut. Add this to vegetables and cook well.

The third use of this rasam powder is making masala avalakki or oggarane avalakki. This along with seasoning is added to avalakki and mixed well.

Detailed recipe with key notes to prepare rasam powder

This rasam masala is used to prepare delicious and aromatic tomato rasam. Tomato rasam is a main course dish prepared in every family function and temples of coastal Karnataka. Recipe for this tomato rasam will be updated on the blog in coming days.

I usually give a detailed recipe in my post with a short recipe on the recipe card which you can save and print for further use. I also give few important key notes or tips to be followed to get the perfect outcome of the recipe.

This rasam powder recipe give approximately 250 gms of powder. If you want to prepare more or less powder, then measure the ingredients proportionally.

In this recipe I am giving cup, grams, and number measurement. This will help any beginner or a pro to understand the quantities and prepare this aromatic powder perfectly.

Heat a thick bottom pan. Now add coconut oil, heat the oil on medium to low heat. After the oil gets heated, add methi seeds. Fry well on low heat, methi seeds should turn light golden colour.

Next add cumin to the same frying pan along with methi seeds. Again, fry well on low heat until you get nice aroma or well-cooked in oil. Now add the third spice ingredient coriander seeds, this also needs to be fried well on low heat until they become crisp and lightly golden.

At the end add red chilies and fry well on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until they become crisp. If they are not crisp, they do not get powdered well. So, fry till they are perfectly crisp.

Let all the fried ingredients cool down to room temperature. Then powder them into fine texture using a dry mixer jar. If the fried spices are not cooled well, they will release moisture and shelf life of rasam powder will decrease.

Fresh aromatic homemade Udupi style rasam powder or sarina pudi is ready to be used. Cool the powder and store it in airtight glass jar.

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