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Showing posts with label Kulith dal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kulith dal. Show all posts

Sunday, July 9, 2017

Horse Gram and Spring onion Soup ( Comforting Monsoon Broths Collaboration )

Monsoon and romance. Well, these two have always seemed synonymous to me. Thankfully I am not the only one prone to their magical madness. The bewitching monsoons have fueled the imagination of many a creative souls resulting in those rain drenched Bollywood sequences that are symbolic of the heavens melting into the embrace of a scorched earth.

From watching those dark clouds traverse the canopy of the blue skies to catching those first rain drops with my hands, I find myself soaking in the beauty of this spellbinding season. And even if it scares the shit out of me at times, I am still fascinated by it. My childhood memories are littered with instances where I hid behind a thick curtain to take a peek at those almost mysterious lightning displays while closing the ears tightly every time the thunder rolled. In fact there are a dozen of those monsoon memories clearly imprinted in my memory.

Once the storm blew over, I would rush out to find the whole garden/terrace littered with Gulmohar blossoms from a huge tree that dominated the entrance of our locality. The lawns resembled something like a piece of modern art with splotches of red and yellow on a verdant canvas. And I would compete with my brother in gathering the most number of intact blossoms. Even if it meant venturing out in the muck and all. Replete with slithering earthworms and creepy crawlies. But somehow in those days, even though we were young, we had the values of 'peaceful co-existence' inculcated in us. So one was never bothered about these creatures.

While growing up has taken the fun out of the rains, it has certainly fired up the romantic in me. A dozen hopeless poems and passages in my short stories bear testimony to this. But speaking practically and sticking to realistic goals, every time it rains, I just want to cozy up with a book, a cup of warm liquid and a blanket. Good enough for most people, don't you agree ?

Now that I have already mentioned it, a warm broth aka soup seems to have become the mainstay of my monsoon diet. From the typical indigenous fare like Kanji, rasam and shorba, to chinese brews and healthy vegetable based nourishment, everything gets a chance to be on the menu. On a rotation basis of course. And the last entrant on this bandwagon is the 'Horsegram soup', a hearty decoction inspired by the 'Kolotho dali' which is an important past of Odia cuisine.

Check out the recipe -

[ and more !! Collab Post Alert *** ]























Preparation Time - 25 mins

Ingredients -
  • 1 cup roasted and split Horsegram
  • 2-3 spring onion bulbs
  • 4-5 tsp chopped spring onions (including the greens)
  • 2 medium sized tomato
  • 10-12 peppercorns
  • 4-5 garlic cloves
  • 1-2 dry red chilis
  • 1 tsp oil
  • pinch of turmeric
  • salt to taste
  • additional spring onion bulb for garnishing

Preparation - Wash and soak the horsegram for 2-3 hours. 

Cooking - Cook it for 5-6 whistles in a pressure cooker along with 2-3 spring onion bulbs, tomatoes, salt, turmeric, peppercorn and 3 cups water. 

Once the steam escapes, open the lid and use a hand blender to puree the cooked lentils and tomatoes.

Heat the oil in a wok. Add the crushed garlic and whole dry red chilis. Once it is fragrant, remove the chilis.

Add the chopped spring onions and saute for 2-3 mins. Pour everything over the pureed ingredients.

Put the pressure cooker back on the flame and let it simmer for 5-6 mins (without lid) . Adjust the consistency by adding hot water and check for the salt.

Pour into serving bowls. Serve.




Dont forget to dunk in some sliced spring onions for extra flavour.
























Check this striking soup recipe by my amazing friend Parinaaz  who is a part of the ongoing Comforting Monsoon Broths Collaboration !! Don't forget to visit her blog - A Dollop Of That for some mouthwatering Parsi fare :).






















Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup



Thursday, February 5, 2015

Horse gram Sundal

Sundal is a popular roadside snack from South India (mainly Tamil Nadu). Boiled pulses stir fried with simple spices and garnished with fresh coconut, lemon juice and cilantro, it is high in fiber and low in calories.

And quite interestingly there are lots of variations even for such a simple recipe. Some prefer to make it with the sprouted lentils while others prefer to add grated carrots/beetroot/cucumber to it. The regular version has lots of onions (and sometimes even garlic) going into it while the one made on festive days especially 'Ganesh Chaturthi' or 'Vinayaka Chaturthi' is sans these condiments.

Click here for more horse gram recipes !!

Read on for the recipe -



















Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -
  • 1 cup horse gram /kolotho/kollu
  • 1 large onion (chopped into medium sized pieces)
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp urad dal
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 2-3 dry red chili
  • a pinch of asafoetida
  • a pinch of turmeric
  • 2 tsp oil
  • salt to taste
  • freshly grated coconut/ finely chopped cilantro for garnishing

Preparation - Wash and soak the horse gram overnight.

Cook it with 2/3 cup water, a pinch of turmeric and salt to taste in a pressure cooker. Allow for 4-5 whistles. Remove from flame and keep aside till steam escapes.

Open the lid and strain the boiled lentils. Do not throw the water as it can be used for making rasam.

Cooking - Heat oil in a wok. Add the broken red chilis, urad dal, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once the urad dal starts turning a little brown, add asafoetida, curry leaves and onion. Fry till onion turns translucent.

Add the boiled lentils and stir fry for 2-3 mins. Adjust the salt if required.

Remove from the wok and garnish with fresh coconut/cilantro. Serve as a healthy afternoon snack .



















Note - Add a little lemon juice and finely chopped green chili to add extra zing.  Avoid the onions when making it for Navratri or on any other fasting occasion !!

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Kolotho Dalma (Coastal Odisha Special)

In Coastal Odisha, if you happen to cook any lentil with vegetables, you end up with a dish that is suffixed with a 'dalma'. So, when I decided to add some veggies to my regular horsegram dal recipe (a western odisha version and my personal favorite), I had to peddle it as 'dalma' to please my husband who is rather fond of this particular category. While there are different versions of the recipe favored by different households, I have used the recipe provided by my mother in law who prefers to ditch the 'ambula' or dried mango / tamarind in favor of an overload of country tomatoes.

It is a very healthy and delicious recipe that provides a good dose of protein and fiber in one go. A word of gentle caution though. Since it is a winter recipe that is used to keep the body warm in the chilly weather, it is best to avoid consuming the lentil frequently during the summer months. However, one can continue to drink the water that is obtained by soaking the lentils overnight as it is perceived to be a cure for kidney and gall bladder stones.

Read on for the recipe -





Preparation Time - 20-25 mins

Ingredients -

  • 2/3 cup kolotho/horse gram (lightly roasted & broken)
  • 1/4 cup baigana/eggplant (cubed)
  • 1/4 cup saru/taro (cut into roundels)
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin (cubed)
  • 1/4 cup green papaya (cubed)
  • 1 drumstick ( cut into 2 inch pieces )
  • 1 small potato (cubed)
  • 2-3 big ripe tomatoes (roughly chopped)
  • 1/2 tsp pancha phutana (mix of fenugreek, cumin, mustard, nigella & fennel seeds)
  • 4-5 garlic flakes
  • 3-4 dry red chilis
  • 5-6 curry leaves
  • 3 tsp rice bran oil
  • 1/3 turmeric
  • salt to taste

Cooking - Wash and cook the kolotho in a pressure cooker with 2 cups water, salt and turmeric. Allow for 2-3 whistles. Remove from flame and allow steam to escape.

Open the lid and add the vegetables (except tomatoes) before closing it once again. Cook for 1 whistle on high flame. Remove from flame and keep aside till steam escapes.

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add the chopped tomatoes, sprinkle a little salt and cook till they become mushy. Add the tomatoes to the contents of the pressure cooker. Put the cooker back on the flame. Adjust the consistency of the dalma by adding some hot water if required.

Heat the remaining oil in a tempering pan. Add the pancha phutana, broken red chilis and curry leaves. Allow it to splutter before pouring it over the dalma.

Serve hot with some white rice and a light stir fry.





















Click here for other recipes with horse gram.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Horse gram (Kulith/Kolotho/Kollu) Rasam

Horse gram rasam has become my go-to drink over the past week even surpassing the favorite ginger tea. Yes, it is almost magical on a sore throat and also helps in digestion. Most of us would be aware of the benefits of rasam and horse gram, so combining these two packs a double punch. Even when it comes to taste!!

Read on for the recipe -




















Preparation Time - 25-30 mins

Ingredients -

  • a handful of horse gram
  • 1 large tomato
  • 1 lemon sized ball of tamarind
  • pinch of turmeric
  • salt to taste


For the rasam powder -

  • 1 tsp peppercorn
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 dry red chilli
  • 1 tsp toor dal
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida


For the tempering -

  • 3-4 garlic flakes
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • dry red chilli
  • 2 sprigs curry leaves
  • 2 pinch asafoetida
  • 2 tsp oil


Preparation - Dry roast all the ingredients for rasam powder. Allow to cool down and then grind into a smooth powder.
Soak the tamarind in 3 cups warm water for 20 mins. Squeeze out all the juice and discard the pulp.
Chop the tomato into small pieces.

Cooking - Soak the horse gram for 1-2 hours. Then cook it for 3-4 whistles in a pressure cooker along with 1 1/2 cups water, turmeric and salt. Keep aside till steam escapes.

Use a hand blender to mash up the cooked dal.

Boil the tamarind water with little turmeric and salt in a saucepan. Allow to boil for 5-6 minutes till the raw taste goes away.

Add the cooked dal along with the tomatoes at this point. Let it boil for 4-5 mins more.

Add the rasam powder dissolved in 1/2 cup water. Simmer for 2 minutes.

Heat oil in a tempering pan. Add broken red chilli, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Allow to splutter. Add chopped garlic, curry leaves and asafoetida. Fry for 30 seconds.

Pour the tempering over the hot rasam. Simmer for 3 minutes. Switch off flame.

Serve hot as a soup or have it along with plain rice.


Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Kolotha Dal ( the Western Odisha Version )

A heart warming recipe that is usually made during the winter months, Kolotho or Horsegram dal is one of those dishes that never given their due credit. Perhaps best known for keeping the body warm and driving away the common cold, its equally beneficial properties of regulating blood sugar and reducing/preventing the incidence of kidney/gall bladder stones are hardly known to many folks.

This is the time of the year when the freshly harvested batch of the lentil hits the markets. While most of it is sold whole, sometimes tribal women (especially in Odisha) also sell the roasted & broken version of this dal in the weekly markets (also known as 'haat'). Here is the version that my mom makes and I can never resist myself from having a bowl of the hot dal when it has been freshly tempered -


















Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

  • 1 1/2 cups roasted & broken horsegram
  • 1 medium sized tomato
  • 1 ambula (or dried mango)
  • 2 dry red chili
  • 4-5 fat garlic cloves
  • 1/3 tsp panch phutana (else one can also use a mix of mustard & nigella seeds)
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp oil
  • salt to taste



Preparation - Wash and cook the dal with 3 cups water, salt and turmeric in a pressure cooker. It takes 6-7 whistles or about 15 mins on a medium low flame. Keep aside till steam escapes.

Soak the ambula in 1 cup hot water.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok. Add the panch phutana and the broken red chilis.

Add the crushed garlic once it gets spluttering. When the garlic starts turning brown, add the finely chopped tomato and cook till mushy.

Pour the dal into the wok. Bring it to a boil. Allow to boil for 2 mins before adding the ambula along with the water in which it had been soaked. Simmer for 5-6 mins.

Remove from flame and serve hot with rice.

Note - This dal will not get completely mushy such that when you allow it to stand for a few minutes, there is a layer of clear liquid which separates out. Once can also add more water while cooking this dal and use only the liquid portion as a soup.

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