Wednesday 19 May 2010

Kollu rasam / Horse gram rasam / Ulava chaaru


Kollu in Tamil, ulavalu in Telugu, kulith in Marathi and horsegam in english, these lovely little beans  look very beautiful. My mom never used this lentil in cooking. I am introduced to this lentil by one of my friend named Singaravelan. He used to bring this rasam. He prepares it himself. Sometimes he even has beetroot in his rasam preparation :). Few times I got a chance to taste his kollu rasam. It tasted very good. He used to say that kollu has many medicinal properties. 

The scientific name of horsegram is Macrotyloma uniflorum. It is generally used as a horse feed. It is very rich in iron and molybdenum. They are also high in polyphenol content. They have high amonut trypsin inhibitor. So it is always better to soak them or roast them well before cooking, otherwise the trypsin inhibitors  willl interfere with protein digestion. 

Kollu or horse gram  is appreciated for its medicinal properties. In tamilnadu villages people prepare it when somebody in home is suffering from fever. It is also thought to help with water retention. People with kidney stones are encouraged to include it more often in their diet. Kollu is also claimed to be good for losing weight. Whetever might be,  the rasam prepared with kollu tastes wonderful with a mild nutty flavour. I love it. Hope you will  like it too.






Ingredients :

Kollu or horsegram - three handfuls
Tomato- 1 no
Tamarind- size of a small lemon
Green chillies- 3 nos
Red chillies- 4 nos
Jeera seeds- 1 heaped tspn
Pepper corns- 1 tspn
Fnugreek, mustard and jeera seeds- 1/2 tspn each for tempering
Turmeric powder- 1 /2 tspn
Asafoetida powder- 1/4 tspn
Garlic- 6 pods
Coriander leaves- a handful
Curry leaves- 20 leaflets
Oil- 3 tbspns
Salt to taste

Method :

First roast the kollu in a hot pan until they acquire a darker colour and emit a nice aroma. Then pressure cook it until they are cooked. The water in which the horsegram is cooked acquires a dark brown colour. This water should be used for making rasam. I guess this water is rich in polyphenols and iron. Seperate the cooked kollu from the remaining water. Grind the cooked kollu in a food processor to a paste. Soak tamarind and extract its juice. Now add tomato, coriander leves, curry leaves and kollu paste ( how much to add depends on you. If you need a thick rasam add more kollu paste) to the diluted tamarind water. With your hand mash the tomatoes and all other ingredients well. Now take red chillies, green chillies, garlic, jeera and pepper corns in a food processor. Just give a pulse spin to grind them coarsely. Tansfer these ground itmes into the tamarind water mixed with other ingredients. Mix everything well with your hand. Add turmeric and asafoetida powder to this mixture. Now heat a pan with oil. When the oil gets hot enough add fenugreek seeds. When they become brown and emit a nice aroma add mustard and jeera seeds. When they splutter add the entire tamarind water mixture to the pan. When the top of the mixture foaths remove from fire and add enough salt to taste. A very tasty, healthy, aromatic kollu rasam will be ready to be served.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Kollu contains small stones hidden between them. Make sure to clean the kollu before you use. Either soak or roast kollu well before cooking. Never allow the rasam to boil. When it froaths on the top (as shown in last picture of the collage) you should remove from fire. Add salt only at the end of rasam preparation. Kollu gets charred easily. So when roasting stir them frequently: Happy cooking !!!

29 comments:

  1. Dear, kollu rasam is so good..I too love this rasam..amma used to prepare this often..loved your pictures..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rasam with masoor dal...very interesting..looks gud

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mouthwatering Rasam, love love Kollu. Those stones are nightmare for me, always scared my kids will bite into one and they NEVER touch any Kollu dishes ever again! :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. such a healthy rasam...i love it very much...

    ReplyDelete
  5. hmm...that dal is quite new to me i guess...rasam looks delicious...would love to try this out sometime...yum!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wowwwww.. beautiful clicks.. very healthy....looks soo tempting.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. My most favourite kollu rasam, i love it..i do prepare often whenever feel like having this soup...Beautiful post.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have not tried this rasam before but nice one, would love to try

    ReplyDelete
  9. There are a lot of rasam varieties too, right?Though I have heard about the dish, I have never tried it so far.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Manju

    Kollu rasam is new too ne. Looks really good. I like all kinds of rasam

    ReplyDelete
  11. Never tried rasam with horsegram, looks delicious and thanks for the info dear....

    ReplyDelete
  12. My fav rasam. My mom used to make this. Very refreshing and inviting. Beautiful and yummy looking rasam.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nice recipe, I will try this for sure! I had no idea that we could make rasam with horse gram..My MIL usually makes a horsegram poriyal and horsegram-mango curry which is a great combination with rice.

    ReplyDelete
  14. wow nice healthy rasam and love tht pic mosaic...

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very healthy rasam...I like the idea of adding the heatlhy kollu in reasam...I am definitely going to try this :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. i like this rasam.it has a very unique taste. and also its so healthy one too.all lentils are always healthy..good one manju..really nice addition of weather and time to the page..good da..

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow, that sounds super yummy !!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dear Manju
    I just landed here from a fellow blogger's place. You have a great place here ..How come I missed this blog before ..!!
    I am going to try this one soon.
    Let me see what other great dishes you have in store
    Have a nice day

    ReplyDelete
  19. Tempting to have it in this cold times.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Priti, this is not masoor dhal...you can ask for it in Indian run supermarket. Mostly you will find it :).

    Suma, yea there are several rasam varieties. Try this one during a cold weather. You will feel warm and cozy :).

    Yummy, I would be happy if you could post the recipes you have mentiond :).

    Ushnish welcome !!!

    To all my friends thank you very much for the appreciation. Try this you will all like this.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Ur Chaaru looks very mouth watering and tempting. Can I have this with some steaming hot rice please!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I always end up in making normal rasam,this is different for me,my next rasam will be kollu rasam:-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Kollu Rasam really superb. Manju I love your posting not only for the recipe but also for your wounderful stories behind that and the way you explained nutrition facts about the main ingredient. Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Fantastic click Manju a healthy recipe for cold too.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Ulava chaaru is one of the delicacies in Andhra, my mother rarely prepares them as well. I brought a pack of kollu, here...ever since, I use them religiously in the rasam. Too good:)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Manju,,ennudaya faav kollu rasam en amma cold engalukku pudikkum poedhu kollu rasam seithu tharuvaanga apdiye hot ah saapdanum superb rasam,,,

    ReplyDelete
  27. Manju! KoLLu rasam recipe seems very great ya. Love it very much. I can simply drink it:)

    ReplyDelete
  28. I like the Ulvala Charu more and more taste Recipe....
    I like to see more Recipes in your blog.....
    Thanks for share...........

    ReplyDelete