Hot-&-Sour Tomato Rasam

Literally ‘peppered water’, this complex broth is both edgy and soothing, just the thing to scare away a summer cold. The dish was corrupted by the British Raj into the soup mulligatawny, with an added assortment of meat and vegetables, but to my mind this original is better.

The heat comes from peppercorns. Kashmiri chilli also lends a kick, but is more there for the gorgeous shade of red it brings.