Skip to content
FriendsPantry

South Indian · Indian

Pineapple rasam

Vegetarian

A sweet, sour and peppery rasam where ripe pineapple — part crushed, part diced — simmers with tomato, toor dal and rasam spices. A favourite at South Indian feasts.

Pineapple rasam is a South Indian soup, ready in about 45 minutes and made with pineapple and rasam powder. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking

No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep
15 min
Cook
30 min
Total
45 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
105

Ingredients

4 servings

For the tempering

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Cook the toor dal (opens in a new tab) with 300 ml of the water and the turmeric (opens in a new tab) until very soft, then mash smooth.

    Potatoes being mashed
    How it looks · Photo: Mateusz Feliksik on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Blend half the pineapple (opens in a new tab) with the tomato (opens in a new tab) to a purée.

  3. Step 3

    Simmer the purée, diced pineapple (opens in a new tab), green chilli (opens in a new tab), tamarind, rasam powder (opens in a new tab) and salt in the remaining water until the pineapple pieces are tender.

  4. Step 4

    Add the mashed dal, pepper (opens in a new tab) and cumin (opens in a new tab) and heat until the rasam froths; switch off before it boils hard.

    • 3 min
    • medium-low heat

  5. Step 5

    Temper the ghee (opens in a new tab) with mustard seeds (opens in a new tab), dried chilli, curry leaves (opens in a new tab) and asafoetida (opens in a new tab), pour over and finish with coriander.

    • 2 min
    • medium heat

About this dish

Origin
Karnataka (also Kerala and Tamil Nadu), Karnataka, India · Commonly attributedPopular across South India, especially in coastal Karnataka; no single documented origin.More food from India
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups
Cooking method
Boiled, Simmered
Taste
sweet & sour, fruity, peppery, tangy
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat
With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration
Cook more with
Pineapple · Rasam powder · Toor dal (split pigeon peas) · Turmeric · Tomato · Green chilli
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering · Tadka (tempering)

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom ghee
  • May contain: Wheatfrom rasam powder, asafoetida
  • May contain: Glutenfrom rasam powder, asafoetida
  • Contains: Mustardfrom mustard seeds

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

105 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 327 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 13%
  • Carbohydrate 64%
  • Fat 23%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy105 kcal32 kcal
Protein3.7 g1.1 g
Carbohydrate17.9 g5.5 g
Net carbohydrate14.1 g4.3 g
Sugars6.4 g2 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre3.8 g1.2 g
Fat2.9 g0.9 g
Saturated fat1.5 g0.5 g
Trans fat0 g0 g
Cholesterol6 mg2 mg
Sodium593 mg181 mg
Salt equivalent1.5 g0.5 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
354 mg
Calcium
60 mg
Iron
1.5 mg
Magnesium
44 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
41 µg
Vitamin C
32 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
73 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): curry leaves, asafoetida.
  • Tamarind paste: Raw tamarind pulp (FDC 167763). Commercial concentrates vary in water content.
  • Rasam powder: Curry powder (FDC 170924) used as a stand-in: a peppery South Indian blend of coriander, cumin, black pepper and chilli.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • If your pineapple is tart, stir in a teaspoon of jaggery to balance it.

Common mistakes

  • Using under-ripe pineapple — the rasam becomes harshly sour.

Serve with

  • Serve with rice as part of a festive meal, or in small glasses as an appetiser.

Storage

  • Keeps 2 days refrigerated.

Reheating

  • Reheat gently.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2

Masalas in this recipe

Make the masala first, then come back to finish the dish.

  • Dry spice blend

    Rasam powder

    This recipe uses 1½ tsp (3.1 g for 4 servings).

    Make Rasam powder

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like

  • Mysore rasam

    South Indian · 50 min · 145 kcal · Vegetarian

  • Lemon rasam

    South Indian · 40 min · 88 kcal · Vegetarian

  • Jeera rasam

    South Indian · 35 min · 51 kcal · Vegetarian