Soups

Three soups, and the first one is not really a soup. Rasam is a thin, sour, peppery broth of tamarind and tomato that a South Indian meal serves after sambar, poured over rice rather than drunk from a bowl. Order it as a starter and you will get a cup; order a meals plate and it arrives anyway, in its proper place.

The other two are closer to what the word usually means. Kozhi soup is chicken, built on black pepper rather than cream — the thing you want when you are coming down with something. Mutton soup is the same idea with more depth, simmered on the bone.

All three are poured hot and all three are peppery. None of them is thickened; a South Indian soup is a broth, and the heat is pepper rather than chilli.