Instant Pot Moringa Rasam | Murungai Rasam | Mulligatawny Soup

Moringa rasam – A soothing and comforting recipe for pepper broth with the goodness of moringa leaves made in Instant Pot. Here is my version of mulligatawny soup (vegan and gluten-free) not-so-creamy, resembling the original – milagu thanni / pepper broth.

Relish it as a soup or enjoy it with rice for a comforting meal.

Food Research-

I love to read about the history of food, and I love to research the roots. This mulligatawny soup was on my list for a very long time. It’s quite popular in Indian restaurants in the US, and they serve with papad/appalam. It tastes more like cumin-pepper rasam, and I always wondered why they were named mulligatawny soup instead of calling it as rasam.

When I researched a bit, I realized it is nothing but pepper broth, which is the South Indian rasam. 

Mulligatawny Soup-

Can you believe that the two Tamil words “Milagu Thanni” became Mulligatawny? Milagu means pepper, and thanni means water, and in this context, it means broth.  

According to foodreference.com, “This soup became popular with the British stationed in India during colonial times, during the late 18th century and later. When they returned home, they brought the recipe back with them to England and other members of the Commonwealth, especially Australia.”

And in due course, the recipe evolved, and now when you search on the internet, you will find creamy versions with and without lentils and with meat and whatnot? Again as food reference puts it right, Today Mulligatawny bears little resemblance to the original.

In that case, all my rasam recipes are different varieties of mulligatawny soups. :-) Now I am adding an exclusive one with the goodness of moringa leaves – mulligatawny soup with moringa leaves. 

In Tamil, we call it as murungai rasam. I am not adding any curry leaves or cilantro or even tamarind paste. It’s a slightly different rasam but a delicious one for sure. 

My version of mulligatawny soup with moringa leaves-

For this rasam or broth, I made a fresh spice mix with cumin seeds and whole pepper and with a hint of coriander seeds. I sauteed some shallots, whole garlic., tomatoes and moringa. I seasoned it and added the freshly ground spice powder and water. Then I let the Instant Pot do its magic. 

If you cannot source fresh moringa leaves, you can even add the moringa powder. 1 to 2 tsps of the moringa powder would work well in this recipe.

Cooking quinoa using the PIP method-

Along with rasam, I cooked quinoa also for this recipe. I used the Costco brand’s organic quinoa. In my tabbouleh recipe, I mentioned that I always go for 8 minutes of cooking time. When I cook quinoa in bulk, I still go with that time. But as 1-mt quinoa is so popular, I slowly want to reduce the timing and see how it comes. I cooked the rasam for 5 minutes and let the pressure release naturally. So the same timing for quinoa as well, and it came out well. 

For this recipe, I cooked ¼ cup of quinoa with ½ cup (1:2 ratio) of water using the pot-in-pot method. Make sure you rinse the quinoa thoroughly before adding it to the bowl. 

 Now let me share how I made this moringa rasam. Please check the recipe notes for some variations and ingredient alternatives. Now, let’s get straight into the recipe.

How to make moringa rasam in Instant Pot-

Roasting and grind the spice powder-

• In a small cast iron pan or kadai, dry roast cumin seeds, whole pepper, and coriander seeds until it is fragrant. Roughly for 3 to four minutes over medium heat.

• Allow it cool and blend into a coarse powder.

Make the rasam-

• Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and add the oil. When the Instant Pot display shows “HOT,” add the mustard seeds and let it splutter.
• Then add the chopped onion, whole garlic cloves, and moringa leaves. 
• Mix well and saute for 3 minutes or until the moringa leaves wilt. 
• Next, add the tomatoes, salt, and turmeric powder. Mix well.

• Then add the ground spice powder. Mix well and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Add the three cups of water and check for salt. If required, add more. 
• Cooking quinoa using the PIP method – If you are cooking quinoa or rice in the PIP method, place a tall trivet or egg rack and place the bowl with quinoa like below. 
• Press cancel and close the Instant Pot. Make sure the sealing ring is on, and the vent is in the sealing position. Pressure cook for 5 minutes at high-pressure mode and release the pressure naturally.
• When the pressure is all released, carefully open the instant pot.

• Mash some of the garlic and mix well. That’s it. The moringa rasam is ready.
• Serve warm. Relish it as a soup with papad or serve it with rice. 

Recipe Notes-

• I did not add any tamarind paste. You can reduce the tomato to one and add ¾ to 1 tsp of tamarind paste for this rasam.
• Adjust the salt and pepper amount as per your taste. Pepper is the only spicing agent here. For a spicier rasam, add little extra pepper or one dried red chili. 
• While roasting the spices, you can add two garlic cloves and let it roast along with the spices and blend it. It adds a fantastic flavor.
• If you can’t source moringa leaves, you can skip, or if you have moringa powder, add 1 to 1.5 tsp of the powder.
• I did not add any curry leaves or cilantro as I want to bring out the flavors of moringa leaves. But you can add a few, and if you are not adding moringa, add more cilantro. 
• Usually, I add cumin seeds while tempering rasam. But for this one, I skipped it. But you can very well add cumin seeds. If you don’t have mustard seeds in your pantry, skip mustard seeds and use cumin instead.
• I usually add hing or asafoetida for all my recipes. It has become an everyday thing. Even for my cumin-pepper rasam, I added hing. I skipped for this one to keep it gluten-free. Add a pinch of hing; if you are ok with gluten. But hing is optional for this rasam.
• You can use ghee instead of oil for tempering.

PS: Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates. If you try this moringa rasam recipe, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it asap.  Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas!

Other Rasam Recipes-

• Mint rasam
• Kerala-style rasam without rasam powder
• Paruppu rasam
• Cumin-pepper rasam
• Moong dal ginger rasam 

📖 Recipe

Pin Recipe Print Recipe

5 from 6 votes

Instant Pot Moringa Rasam | Murungai Rasam | Mulligatawny Soup

Moringa rasam - A soothing and comforting recipe for pepper broth with the goodness of moringa leaves made in Instant Pot.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Pressure Cooking + Pressure Releasing Time15 minutes mins

Course: Entree

Cuisine: South Indian

Servings: 6

Calories: 80kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Equipment

• Instant Pot 6 Quart

Ingredients

Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1 tbsp=15ml; 1tsp=5ml;

For the spice powder-

• ▢ 2 tsp cumin seeds
• ▢ 1 tsp whole pepper
• ▢ ¼ tsp coriander seeds optional

For the Rasam

• ▢ 2 tsp oil use ghee if you are not particular about vegan
• ▢ 1 tsp mustard seeds see notes
• ▢ 3 shallots finely chopped
• ▢ 10 to 12 garlic cloves peeled
• ▢ 1 cup moringa leaves loosely packed destemmed and cleaning
• ▢ 2 to matoes roughly chopped
• ▢ 1.25 tsp salt
• ▢ ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ▢ 3 cups water

Instructions

Roasting and grind the spice powder-

• In a small cast iron pan or kadai, dry roast the cumin seeds, whole pepper, and coriander seeds until it is fragrant for 3 to four minutes over medium heat.
• Allow it cool and blend into a coarse powder.

Make the rasam-

• Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and add the oil. When the Instant Pot display shows "HOT," add the mustard seeds and let it splutter.
• Then add the chopped onion, whole garlic cloves, and moringa leaves.
• Mix well and saute for 3 minutes or until the moringa leaves wilt.
• Next, add the tomatoes, salt, and turmeric powder. Mix well. Then add the ground spice powder. Mix well and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Add the three cups of water and check for salt. If required, add more.
• Cooking quinoa using PIP method - If you are cooking quinoa or rice in the PIP method, place a tall trivet or egg rack and place the bowl with quinoa like below.
• Press cancel and close the Instant Pot. Make sure the sealing ring is on, and the vent is in the sealing position. Pressure cook for 5 minutes at high-pressure mode and release the naturally.
• When the pressure is all released, carefully open the instant pot. Mash some of the garlic and mix well.
• Serve warm. Relish it as a soup with papad or serve it with rice.

Notes

• I did not add any tamarind paste. You can reduce the tomato to one and add ¾ to 1 tsp of tamarind paste for this rasam.
• Adjust the salt and pepper amount as per your taste. Pepper is the only spicing agent here. For a spicer rasam, add little extra pepper or one dried red chili.
• While roasting the spices, you can two garlic cloves and let it roast along with the spices and blend it. It adds a fantastic flavor.
• If you can't source moringa leaves, you can skip, or if you have moringa powder, add 1 to 1.5 tsp of the powder.
• I did not add any curry leaves or cilantro as I want to bring out the flavors of moringa leaves. But you can add a few, and if you are not adding moringa, add more cilantro.
• Usually, I add cumin seeds while tempering rasam. But for this one, I skipped it. But you can very well add cumin seeds. If you don't have mustard seeds in your pantry, skip mustard seeds and use cumin instead.
• I usually add hing or asafoetida for all my recipes. It has become an everyday thing. Even for my cumin-pepper rasam, I added hing. I skipped for this one to keep it gluten-free. Add a pinch of hing; you are ok with gluten. But hing is optional for this rasam.
• You can use ghee instead of oil for tempering.

Nutrition

Calories: 80kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 496mg | Potassium: 283mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 350IU | Vitamin C: 95mg | Calcium: 205mg | Iron: 1mg

I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen

For Video RecipesCheck out My YouTube Channel