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Sambar is thick in consistency, while rasam is more liquid. The thickness for the sambar is due to addition of large amount of cooked and mashed dal (pulse). Rasam has very little or no cooked dal in it.
The spice powders added in both are different. More quantity of spice powder is added in Sambar while very less powder is added in rasam
Addition of vegetables is a must for sambar, while there will no vegetables in the rasam, except drum sticks.
Though both the powders contain black pepper in them, proportion of black pepper is more in rasam.
Sambar is used as an accompaniment to many items other than rice; like for idlis, dosas, utappam etc. While rasam is consumed with rice only. Rasam is sometimes taken as an appetizer, but not samabar
Samabar is consumed for filling the stomach and supplementing the proteins which the rice lack. But rasam is consumed for enhancing the taste of some other item like dal rice.
When stomach becomes weak after some ailment, rasam is recommended. It is digested quickly.
There are many varieties of sambar powders and rasam powders. All of them are available on Indian grocery stores.
Actually ‘sambar’ and ‘rasam’ are Tamil recipes.
For Telugu people, there are ‘Pappu pulusu (dal+vegetables+tamarind), pappu charu (Dal+tamarind)’, plain ‘charu’ (Just tamarind sometimes replaced by tomatoes or lime juice) and plain pulusu (vegetables+tamarind+little sweetness)
These are Telugu versions:
You can see that there is no redness in any recipe, because no powder is added.
Difference between Tamil recipes and Telugu recipes is, you don’t add any powder to any of them. Black pepper is added only to ‘miriyala charu’.
Since the question is about ‘sambar’ and ‘rasam’ I have not mentioned about Telugu versions to avoid confusion.
Till few years back I did not add any powder to rasam (charu for Telugu people). In Telugu cuisine they don’t add any powder to charu, but single powder is added.
Sambar powder recipe::
Dry Red Chilli – 1 cup
Whole Coriander seeds– 1.5 cup
Mustard– 1 tblspn
Fenugreek Seeds / Methi– 2 tsp
Cumin Seeds– 2 tblspn
Toor dal ppu – 1 cup
Channa dal– 1/2 cup
Urad dal– 3 tblspns
Whole Pepper –1 tblspn
Rasam powder recipe: Karnataka style:
Dhania seeds 3 cups
Jeera 2 cups
Toor dal 1/4 cup
Chana dal 1/4 cup
Mustard 2 tbl spoons
Fenugreek/methi 2tbl spoons
7-8 pieces Marathi mogga
Red chilli powder 2 teaspoons (optional)
Charu varieties without rasam poder:
There are many varieties without powder.
1.Inguva charu: Instead of adding inguva (hing) at the end in popu/talimpu add it while charu is boiling along with half teaspoon jeera powder. So this will have dominating raw hing taste, which many people like. Curry leaves, coriander, tomato etc as usual
2.Miriyala charu: Add black pepper powder instead of hing while charu is boiling.
3.Dhaniyala charu: Add dhania powder instead of black pepper powder at #2
4.Add both hing and pepper powder.
Instead of adding hing and curry leaves while boiling, add them in tempering (popu/talimpu). This will have different taste than #1
Sambar and Rasam powder of my recipe in a package is available from me. INQURY welcome.
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Thankyou …Sambar is a lentil based south Indian gravy thicker in consistency
.Basic difference between sambar and rasam is in the ingredients used for preparing the dishes. For sambar lentil, vegetables and other spices are blended together.
Rasam on the other hand is a dilute gravy more like soup.
What do you eat with Rasam?
Rasam rice is a traditional South Indian rice preparation. Use homemade tamarind pulp to make authentic rasam.
Use the best quality long-grain basmati rice for this recipe.
The best side dishes to serve with it are papadam, mint & cucumber yogurt, coconut chutney, pudina chutney, and tomato chutney.
Sambar has more dal and vegetables in it and is thicker. Rasam is more watery and has more spices than vegetables.
Both can be eaten with rice. However, dosa and idly can be eaten only with sambar, not with rasam
North Indian food tends to have a lot of Persian/Middle eastern influence so a lot of flat breads and a little less spicy than South Indian.
South Indian food is a lot like Thai food...spicy, and often there's mint, green chilies, black pepper, and coconut. Also, a lot of rice.
Both are actually pretty tasty. Think of North Indian as a spicier version of Persian/Afghan/Middle Eastern type of food.
Think of South Indian food as similar to Thai without the soy or Chinese influence..
Want to add word or two?
One serving of Sambar gives 139 calories. Out of which carbohydrates comprise 66 calories, proteins account for 24 calories and remaining calories come from fat which is 50 calories.
Since the stew is rich in proteins, fibres and is easily digestible, and sambar makes for a delicious weight loss friendly food. To maximise on the weight loss benefits, you can increase the quantity of vegetables in the stew and decrease the amount of salt. Excess sodium can lead to water-retention.
Your comment ….?
We all love the tangy Pulihora which is a blend of different flavours; whether it is the gritty peanut or the hot sliced green chili or the tanginess of the tamarind.
But, you want to take the tsunami of flavours to a next level?
Add a couple of spoons of some spicy, steamy sambar to it and challenge your taste buds!
Have some fried chicken from KFC or some other place, dip it in sambar and amaze yourselves! It’s not as weird as it sounds, surprisingly…
Sambar + French Fries: Same as fried chicken! Only difference, while you just dip the chicken in the above one; here you liberally soak the French fries in Sambar… *Mouth-watering *
* Sure you can do the same for roti, puri, bread etc…..
"Enjoy your meal", "bon appétit"
Merci! (Thank you!)
