This soup reminds me of the rasam I enjoyed during my stay at Amma’s ashram. Mata Amritanandamayi, or the Hugging Saint, as the world knows her, is a spiritual guru from Kerala. I had the great privilege of living in her ashram and enjoying the food cooked by her devotees every day. Sometimes the meal would have rasam, which is a typical south Indian soup served before the meal to enhance the appetite.
One day I had to make a soup and I used amla for sourness and created this version. You can add a spoonful of honey to it, just to balance out the flavours.
In Assam, a similar version of amla soup, served before the meal, is known as amlokhi aakhon.
Tamarind pulp (for ¼ cup)
¼ cup tamarind, seedless
Soup
10 amlas (Indian gooseberries)
4 green chillies, slit lengthwise
2 tbsp tamarind pulp
½ tsp salt or to taste
Tempering
1 tbsp oil
2 sprigs fresh curry leaves
4 dried red chillies, torn to pieces
A pinch of turmeric powder
Tamarind pulp Heat ⅓ cup of water till warm and combine with tamarind in a small bowl. Set aside for 10–15 minutes; then mash the tamarind well. Rub the mixture through a strainer to get a smooth pulp. (You can also dilute ready-made tamarind paste, available commercially. To get a perfect pulp, combine 2 parts tamarind paste with 1 part water.)
Soup Cut the amla; remove and discard the seeds. Put amla flesh in a blender with 4 cups of water. Blend till the liquid is frothy and milky. Strain through a clean muslin cloth and squeeze cloth to extract maximum juice from the fibres. In a pan, combine the freshly extracted amla juice with green chillies, 2 tbsp tamarind pulp and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Heat the oil for the tempering in a small pan. Add curry leaves and red chillies. When the spices crackle, add turmeric powder and immediately pour the tempering over the amla soup. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.