Kollu Rasam | Horsegram Rasam Recipe

• Horse gram – 1/4 cup
• Tamarind – Medium gooseberry size
• Turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp
• Jaggery – A pinch
• Curry leaves  – few
• Salt & water – as needed

To roast & grind

• Cooking oil – 1 tsp
• Dhania / coriander seeds – 3/4 tsp
• Black pepper – 1 tsp
• Jeera / cumin – 1 tsp
• Red chillies –  2 nos
• Methi seeds – 1/4 tsp

To temper

• Ghee – 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Jeera – 1/2 tsp
• Crushed garlic cloves – 5 nos

• Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 mins & take the extract.
• In a cooker base , add a tsp of oil and roast the horse gram till you get nice aroma.
• Add the required water & pressure cook for 2-3 whistles.
• In the meanwhile , roast all the ingredients given under “to roast & grind”. Grind to make a powder & set aside.
• Now remove the pressure cooker lid and  reserve 2 tsbp of horse gram.Take the remaining horse gram  & grind it to a smooth paste adding the cooked water..
• Mix the horse gram paste & tamarind extract along with salt , turmeric powder & a pinch of jaggery.
• In a kadai, take the tamarind extract mixture, reserved kollu  with required water.
• Allow it to boil adding raw curry leaves.. After it boils for sometime, add the roasted & ground rasam powder.
• Mix well and boil for few minutes. Switch off the flame & remove.
• Now temper the above said ingredients and add to the rasam.  This is the most important step. Use ghee for tempering & crush the garlic slightly before adding..
• Close it with a lid to retain the flavour.
• Mix with plain rice adding little ghee & Enjoy !!

• For variations, you can grind all the cooked horse gram instead of reserving a tbsp.
• U can also grind all the ingredients & make rasam powder without roasting it. I have tried both the ways. It tastes good.
• We dont add tomato & coriander leaves as we wanted horse gram smell to be dominant. If you want to add tomato , saute tomato pieces in the beginning and add the tamarind extract.
• To make “KOLLU THANNI” , soak  a handful of horse gram overnight and pressure cook the next morning adding a cup of water. Strain the water , add little salt or sugar as per your taste & drink in empty stomach during periods for 5 days.  It helps to remove the fat deposited from the Ovarian tubes and helps to concieve. I have tried this personally. It works ! The cooked horse gram can be used in poriyal, kootu & sambar along with toor dal..
• Tempering with ghee & adding slightly crushed garlic is the high light of this recipe. Please don’t skip this step..