Part 1 of 2

Cooling Millet Soup (with an introduction to Rasna Soup)

Opening Chant

“Let’s invite healing into our hearts.
Let the healing come through our food into our hearts,
nourishing us with longevity and health.
Peace for my body, peace in my mind,
peace always surrounding my soul.
Thank you very much, and welcome.”

Two Soups, Two Paths of Healing

Ayurveda teaches us that food is medicine — but only when it’s chosen with care for the moment, the season, and the body’s needs. Some days, the body asks to be cooled and soothed. Other days, it needs fire to break stagnation and push metabolism forward.

This is why in this series we are exploring two traditional soups with opposite yet complementary effects:

• 
  Millet Soup — cooling, probiotic, and hydrating. It pacifies excess Pitta, restores balance in the gut, and refreshes the body on hot summer days.
  
• 
  Rasna Soup (Rasam) — fiery, sour, and pungent. It stimulates Agni (digestive fire), clears mucus, and awakens the system when sluggishness or congestion sets in.
  

In this Part 1, we’ll go deep into the qualities of both soups and share the full Millet Soup recipe. In Part 2, you’ll get the complete Rasna Soup recipe with the full video so you can cook along with us.

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Millet Soup: Cooling & Restorative

Millet is one of the oldest grains in Ayurveda. Light, cooling, and easy to digest, it was a staple in my grandmother’s kitchen. She would often prepare millet with yogurt or buttermilk, creating a simple meal that soothed the stomach and refreshed the body during summer heat.

The addition of radish gives this soup a unique dimension. Raw radish is pungent and heating, but when cooked it softens into sweetness. Paired with probiotic dairy like yogurt, kefir, or buttermilk, the radish supports digestion without aggravating heat. Together, they create a probiotic-rich, gut-friendly dish that calms inflammation, hydrates the system, and nourishes the microbiome.

This soup is a classic example of Ayurveda’s wisdom: balance sharpness with coolness, pungency with sweetness, and grain with fermentation.

Rasna Soup: Fiery & Awakening

While Millet Soup cools, Rasna Soup ignites. Known widely as Rasam in South India, this dish starts with tamarind pulp — sour, tangy, and powerfully activating. Sour taste in Ayurveda stimulates secretions throughout the digestive system: gastric juices, bile, and enzymes. This cascade wakes up Agni and clears sluggish digestion.

The soup is then infused with pungent spices: ginger, garlic, turmeric, and black pepper. These ingredients cut through heaviness, dry up mucus, and support circulation. Traditionally, Rasna Soup is the first food prepared when someone feels a cold, cough, or congestion. Served with rice, it becomes a soupy porridge that is both comforting and deeply stimulating.

We’ll share the step-by-step Rasna Soup recipe and full cooking video in Part 2 of this series.

Millet Soup Recipe (Part 1)

Ingredients
¼ cup millet

2–3 fresh radishes (red, purple, or white), grated

1 cup plain kefir (or yogurt/buttermilk)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 ½ teaspoons salt (adjust to taste)

1 tablespoon fresh green onion or cilantro, chopped (for garnish)

Water (as needed for cooking millet)

Method
Cook millet in 1 cup water until soft and mushy. Leave uncovered in summer for a light texture, or cover in winter for a slightly heavier dish.

Grate radishes finely. Add to millet once cooked and slightly cooled.

Stir in kefir (or yogurt/buttermilk) once the mixture is warm, not hot.

Add cumin seeds and salt, mixing well.

Garnish with green onion or cilantro. Serve slightly cool.

Closing Reflection

Together, Millet Soup and Rasna Soup embody two sides of Ayurvedic healing:

Cooling Millet Soup brings peace to the gut and calms excess heat.

Fiery Rasna Soup clears stagnation, relieves congestion, and rekindles digestive fire.

This is Part 1 of our Two-Soup Series.
👉 Next time: Rasna Soup — with the full recipe and video so you can prepare it in your own kitchen.