Serves: 4
Total Calories: 516

1/3 cup seedless tamarind pulp
4 to 5 cups water
2 tablespoons , dried split garbanzo beans, (channa dal), sorted and washed in 3 to 4 changes of water
2 to 3 tablespoons South Indian Soup Powder (Rasam Podi) or store-bought
1 tablespoon peanut oil or melted ghee
3 whole dried red chili peppers, such as chile de arbol
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon minced fresh curry leaves
1/8 teaspoon ground asafoetida
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon grated jaggery (gur), or brown sugar

1. Soak the tamarind in 1 cup water about 2 hours. Mash with clean fingers or a wooden spoon and pass through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl to extract the pulp. Add another 1/2 cup water to the leftover pulp, mash and pass through the strainer again to extract more pulp. Discard the residue.

2. Soak the dal in about 1/2 cup water about 30 minutes, then drain. Meanwhile, prepare the soup powder.

3. Heat the oil (or ghee) in a large saucepan and add the red chile peppers, mustard and cumin seeds they should splutter upon contact with the hot oil, so lower the heat and cover the pan until the spluttering subsides. Mix in the soaked dal and curry leaves and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes. Then add the asafoetida, turmeric, and salt, and stir about 30 seconds.

4. Mix in the tamarind extract, jaggery, soup powder, and the remaining water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and simmer until the dal is soft, about 15 minutes. Taste, adjust the seasonings, and serve.

From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 4
Total Calories: 516
Calories from Fat: 43

More Recipes from the 1000 Indian Recipes Cookbook:
* Soups
Cabbage Soup with Vegetables
Carrot-Ginger Soup
Cashew Corn Soup in Chicken Broth
Chicken Soup with Chayote Squash
Chicken Soup with Cream-Style Corn and Green Chili Peppers
Chicken Soup with Ginger and Coconut Milk
Chickpea Soup with Chicken Broth
Chilled Chickpea Soup
Chilled Potato Soup
Chilled Roasted Vegetable Soup
Chunky South Indian Tomato Soup
Classic South Indian Ginger Soup
Creamy Almond-Poppy Seed Soup
Creamy Tomato Soup
Curried Green Pea Soup
Fast Black Bean Soup, Indian Style
Fragrant Yogurt Soup
Goan Caldo-Verde Soup with Cauliflower
Goan Shrimp Soup
Mulligatawny Soup
Mysore Coconut Soup
Puréed Mushroom Soup with Yogurt
Puréed Pumpkin Soup
Puréed Spinach Soup
Quick Black Chickpea Soup with Cumin Seeds
Quick Lentil, Barley and Vegetable Soup
Quick Puréed Root Vegetable Soup
Quick Sindhi Split Pigeon Pea Soup with Tamarind
South Indian Buttermilk Soup
South Indian Lemon Soup with Mung Beans
South Indian Tamarind Soup
Spicy Chicken Broth
Spicy Lamb Broth
Spicy Shrimp with Coconut Milk and Tomato
Spicy South Indian Vegetable Soup with Tamarind
Spinach Yogurt Soup
Tomato Soup with Fresh Curry Leaves
Tomato Soup with Sautéed Vegetables
Tomato Soup with Yellow Mung Beans
Traditional South Indian Split Pigeon Pea Soup
Vegetable Soup with Yogurt and Coconut
Vegetarian Broth
Yellow Mung Beans and Spinach Soup with Sizzling Cumin Oil
Yogurt Soup with Flame-Roasted Eggplant