Chicken Rasam Rice

Ingredients

• 250 g chicken with bone
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 4 cloves garlic (Use 4–5 cloves; leave the skin on.)
• 2 dried red chilies
• 1 sprig coriander leaves (For finishing; use as needed.)
• 4 sprigs coriander stems (Use 4–5 sprigs.)
• 10 shallots
• 2 Nati/desi tomatoes (Small tomatoes.)
• 0.5 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp oil (Use 1–2 tsp.)
• salt (As required, plus salt to taste.)
• water (As required to make the broth.)
• steamed rice (To serve; no quantity specified.)

Steps

1. 1

   Dry-roast the cumin, black pepper, garlic, and dried red chilies until fragrant. The ingredients should smell aromatic without burning.

2. 2

   Transfer the roasted spice mixture to a mortar and pestle and crush it into a coarse mix. Set aside.

3. 3

   Using the same mortar and pestle, roughly crush the ginger, shallots, and tomatoes into a chunky mixture.

4. 4

   Heat the oil in a pressure cooker over medium heat.

5. 5

   Add the coarse rasam spice mixture and sauté for a few seconds.

6. 6

   Add the crushed ginger, shallot, and tomato mixture. Cook until fragrant.

7. 7

   Add the turmeric powder and sauté until its raw smell disappears.

8. 8

   Add water and salt as required, then let the mixture come to a gentle simmer.

9. 9

   Add the bone-in chicken, close the pressure cooker, and cook for about 4 whistles, or 4–5 whistles according to the spoken instructions, until the chicken is cooked through. Avoid overcooking so the chicken remains juicy.

10. 10

    Once the pressure has been released, remove the chicken pieces from the cooker and separate the meat from the bones.

11. 11

    Add coriander leaves as needed to the rasam broth.

12. 12

    Serve the chicken with steamed rice and plenty of the warm, flavorful rasam broth.

Notes

The source does not specify the quantity of water or steamed rice. The written method says about 4 whistles, while the transcript says at least 4–5 whistles; cook only until the chicken is done so it stays juicy. The transcript calls this Koli Rasam from the Kongu region of Tamil Nadu.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• soup
• South Indian
• pressure-cooked
• chicken
• comfort food
• flu-season
• high-protein