On the heat. Hot · pepper-led

Ingredients

• 1 kg lamb marrow and neck bones
• 2 l water
• Walnut-sized ball of tamarind, in hot water
• 3 tomatoes, crushed
• — RASAM POWDER — ROAST AND GRIND
• 2 tbsp black peppercorn · 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp coriander seed · 4 dried chillies
• 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• — TEMPERING
• 2 tbsp ghee · 1 tsp mustard seed
• curry leaves · asafoetida · coriander

Method

1. Roast the bones at 220 °C for 30 minutes. Non-negotiable — this is where the colour and depth come from.
2. Bones into the water and simmer 90 minutes, skimming. Strain, keeping any marrow that has come free.
3. Roast and grind the rasam spices with the garlic.
4. Strained stock back in the pot with the tamarind water, tomato and rasam powder. Simmer 15 minutes only — a rasam boiled hard goes bitter and cloudy.
5. Temper: ghee, mustard seed until it pops, curry leaves, a pinch of asafoetida. Pour it in and cover immediately.
6. Coriander over. Drink it from a cup, or spoon it over plain rice.

Cook's note. Bring it just to a foam and take it off. The moment a rasam breaks into a rolling boil, the pepper turns harsh and the tamarind goes flat.

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