First, soak the urad dal in water for 3 hours. Drain and grind it into a paste. Add ginger, green chilies, salt, and cilantro to the paste and mix well. Beat the mixture in one direction for 5 to 10 minutes.

The vada batter is ready. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil and fry the vadas until golden brown on both sides. Remove and place them on a plate.

To make the rasam, gather all the ingredients. Heat oil in a deep pan. Add 1 tablespoon split urad dal and sauté until it starts to turn light brown. Add the chopped tomatoes.

Cover and cook the tomatoes for 5 minutes. Add the green chili-ginger paste and sauté. Once fragrant, add Kashmiri red chili powder and rasam masala, mixing well. Add the tamarind pulp.

Add 2 cups water, salt to taste, and 1 tablespoon jaggery. Mix well.

Add 1 cup cooked toor dal. You can adjust the amount of dal as desired. Cover and let it simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the rasam is ready. Turn off the heat.

For the tempering, heat oil in a small pan. Add mustard seeds, dried red chilies, curry leaves, and a pinch of asafoetida. Sauté for 2 minutes.

Pour the tempering over the rasam.

Your South Indian rasam vada is ready! Let us know how you liked it.

Serve the rasam vada with rice and garnish with finely chopped cilantro before serving.

We used homemade rasam masala, but you can use store-bought if you prefer.