Saturday, August 19, 2006

Kollu Paruppu (horse gram) Chutney and Rasam

Kollu Paruppu Chutney and Rasam is another recipe that is very unique to Kongu Naadu area of Tamilnadu. It is very unlikely for people outside of Kongu Naadu to have heard about Kollu Paruppu chutney or rasam, then again I may be wrong. You might not see it in the menu if you are visiting friends or attending a wedding in the area, just that it is not a "special" dish just an everyday kind of homely dish.


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uncooked and cooked horsegram dal


I have a funny incident to narrate just to reiterate how uncommon it really is. While I was in college some of my friends dropped in for lunch unexpectedly at our house. Unexpectedly is key here because if my mom had known that my friends were coming home for lunch the menu would have looked different. One of them B, was a pure vegetarian so he wanted to make sure that he did not eat any Non.Veg items just in case, my mom mentioned there was nothing to worry about since it was just Kollu chutney but to his ears it sounded like Kozhi(chicken) chutney, so when they started serving he did not want to eat the chutney and my mom was puzzled. We burst out laughing when he heard him say "I cannot eat Kozhi chutney". Mom had to explain how it was Kollu and not Kozhi, the main reason for the confusion, he had never heard of kollu chutney. Then again his query was isn't it what they feed to horses. It is but it is also nutritious and tasty and perfectly OK for humans to eat too. It is not one of those pretty looking chutneys, which on just looking you want to taste right away, it is down to earth and plain looking, but don't let looks deceive you. To this day I remember the Kozhi Chutney incident whenever I cook Kollu chutney. As luck would have it B married a girl from the Kongu Naadu area, that reminds me I should check with him to see if his wife is treating him to "Kozhi chutney".

It also has this amazing healing quality, if you having cold and if you eat kollu paruppu the next day you are definitely going to see relief.

Kollu Chutney

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Ingredients
1. 1 Cup of kollu paruppu cooked for 3 whistles. Add some extra water, so you have enough of the paruppu water for the rasam. Drain the water out into a separate
container and save. Leave a little bit of the water maybe 2-3 tbsp so the chutney is not too solidy.

2. 1/4 onion chopped roughly
3. 4 pods garlic
4. 2 red chilies
5. 1 tsp coriander seeds
6. 1/4 tsp cumin
7. 1/4" piece tamarind

Method
1. Saute 2 thru 7 in a little bit of oil, and pour it over the paruppu with salt.
2. Let it cool and blend roughly in a food processor or blender.

It should not be made into a smooth paste.

Kollu Rasam

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Ingredients
1. 1 1/2 cups of tamarind pulp
2. 1 1/2 cups of the Kollu paruppu cooked water and chutney water. (Do not clean out the blender when you are done with the chutney, wash out the sticking bits of chutney with a little bit of water)
3. 2 Red chillies split and seeds removed
4. 1 tbsp of mashed onion (substitute with cut onions)
"mom: thatti pota nalla irukkum"
5. 2 pods of garlic mashed
6. 1 tomato roughly chopped (optional)
7. seasoning, mustard cumin,curry leaves

To Powder
1. 2tsp coriander seeds
2. 1tsp cumin
3. 1/4 tsp pepper (or per taste)
4. 1/4 tsp methi seeds
dry roast the above and make it into a powder. Use a coffee grinder.

Method:
1. Heat about a tsp oil/ghee in a pan and season with mustard, cumin and curry leaves
2. Add the onions and saute followed by the garlic and red chillies.
4. Tomatoes should be added now and sauted till soft.
3. Reserve about a tsp of the powder and add the rest.
4. Now add the tamarind and paruppu water.
5. Let it boil till you see white forth and switch off heat immediately. At this stage add the tsp of reserved powder for a great aroma.

Now enjoy the chutney and rasam with white rice.

Other recipes with Horse Gram (Kollu Paruppu)
1. Stir Fry - Snake Gourd with Horse gram
2. Horse Gram chutney with Coconut
3. Idli Podi - Kollu Paruppu Podi

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39 comments:

  1. Hi ISN,
    My mom do makes this rasam .we call "kollu" in telugu "Ulavalu".
    Ulava charu (rasam) is one of the famous item in marriages.I will try your chutney when i have ulavalu in pantry.
    thanks for sharing.

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  2. we call this mudira in kerala. I have yet to try the rasam and chutney, but thanks for the unusual recipe.

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  3. Very interesting recipes. Thanx for sharing.

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  4. Hi INdo,
    Last week I prepared this one. It is very good for health. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

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  5. ISG,
    horsegram chutney is new to me. We too make the rasam but the process is a little bit different and the end result is a lot thicker, we call it ulava chaaru its served with fresh cream.

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  6. This is soo goood! I only knew to make thoran with this. Thank you soooo much!! This legume is sooo good!

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  7. I came to know about kollu rasam only after getting married. Its made in my in-laws place. They call it ulava chaaru. Its in my long to do list.. But I think its too much heat for the body right ?? But certainly makes u very strong !!! Look at horse power.
    thank you again for the original kongunaatu recipe. I just love your blog for these original recipes !!!

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  8. Hi ISG, recently got to see your blog. You have nice recipes- I have bookmarked many to try it:)

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  9. Oh< i bought Kollu, but did not know how to make it. My parents moved to Salem and our neighbors introduced us to kollu paruppu & rasam, but we never made it at home. Now I have the recipe, thank U

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  10. Love kollu chutney with rice and some vathals. My mom makes it exactly like yours. But i dont remember how she makes kollu rasam.Have never tried making them after coming here. Both look delicious Indo.

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  11. Hi ,
    This is the first time Iam visiting ur blog and U have a great great blog going..I had a look at ur garden and it was lovely to see the brinjal and snakegourd flowers. U sure have reason to feel proud abt it.
    My mom makes this kollu rasam and it is very healthy. Kollu chutney is a good one and thanks for sharing.

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  12. Snakegourds from your yard ? They look so good. Have never tried Kollu rasam. Thanks for sharing

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  13. heay i ttried ur reciepe today...u know onething i was searching for this reciepe for a year r so..but din't search in net..cha wat a gal....

    I have heard that itz good fro health...i bought the horsegram pack a yer r so...and the pack got realeased from itz jail..Thanx a lot for ur recipe...

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  14. Hi! Thanks for the recipe. It turned out really well. Keep posting such good recipes.

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  15. hey yaar Thanx for the recipie.i really love Kollu chutney... i tried myself a couple of times it didnt come out well... followed urs.. and the chutney and Rasam was yummy... thanks yar...

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  16. hi,
    thanks pa... it comes out very nice in first time itself!!!...

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  17. Hi,
    thank u very much!! it comes out well in the first time itself...

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  18. Ah! Another yummy dish that I love! Whenever I went home and amma asked me what I'd like to have, I'd say, kollu chutney, pulichakeerai, kathrikai bajji and surakai with coarsely ground peanuts. She didnt get it. But all these were the dishes that I loved and that spelled home to me.

    Indo, Thanks for bringing back memories! :)

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  19. hello i see that kollu is such a healthy food from all ur recipes but i dont know if it is available in any indian store in NJ,USA

    suganthi

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  20. I have seen it in just one store in my area. I am sure there would be a few stores that might carry it in NJ also but the trick is to find the store :)

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  21. We do prepare a rasam. Saute 'kollu', jeera, pepper, corainder seeds, a few methi seeds, very little toor dhal, curry leaves(3/4). Grind it for a fine paste and then let it boil in water..finally add tamarind juice and salt. then bring it to another boil and then temper some mustard if u want and mix it with it the above. made when in diet.

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  22. Hey

    Do u know exactly where u get horse gram in US. I live in Chicago. Do uhave any idea regarding that?

    anu

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  23. Please chk the link below...
    http://www.samayalblog.com/index.php/veg/chutney/kollu-thuvaiyal
    Looks like ur snap. TC..

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  24. hi thanx for kollu chutney recipe
    i also have one recipe we do at home nearly every week
    its kollu chappatikurma
    a srilankan in uk taught me this
    just do exactly the same thing u do for chicken or lamb curry except u add fried onion thats been blended to the curry,just when u add the ginger n garlic paste then boil in sim for 2 minutes and afta we add the kollu and leave un sim for 10 to 15 minutes

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  25. niza, thanks for the recipe. I would definitely like to give it a try. Can you please give me the complete recipe? I know what you mean but it would be great to have the recipe the way you do it.

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  26. hi indo this is the recipe
    u need
    3 red indian onion
    2 tomatoes
    blended garlic ginger paste
    4 green chillies
    1 t spoon chilli powder
    cinnamon,cardamon,cloves
    2 tab spoon madras curry powder
    1/4 t spoon garam masala
    1/4 t spoon turmeric powder
    1 tab spoon yoghurt
    2 cups of cooked kollu
    2 tab spoons lemon juice
    coriander leaves
    salt 2 taste n oil 3 tab spoons or whatevr u wish

    to make:
    heat oil in pan,add cardamon,cinnamon and cloves,then add 2finely chopped onions,fry until golden brown,add tomatoes and chillies,let it cook for 1 minute,add ginger/garlic paste stir until firmly cooked then add the yoghurt and stir,put it to sim and add chilly powder,madras curry powder and garam masala stir well until all properly set and add desired amounts of water leave it on sim....meanwhile cut out1 onion in2 chunky pieces and fry in pan for 30 seconds blend them in a processor and now add them to the curry giv it a gud mix leave for 2 minutes in sim ... then add cooked kollu leave itin low flame(sim) for 10 to 15 minutes until the curry becomes thick and garnish with coriander leave
    i mean we always use it for chappati in our family but the srilankan lady who taught me said its quite tasty with rice aswell
    some people dont really like it
    hope u like it htough
    thanx
    take care

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  27. Thanks Niza. I would give this a try and let you know.

    I love anything made with horsegram and this would be no exception.

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  28. hi indo weve been friends for 2 days now
    whats ur name
    where r u from?

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  29. Niza, sure leave a message with your email address, we will communicate.

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  30. Niza, Check the AboutMe section and you will see my email address there.

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  31. Hi,

    This Horse Gram was very difficult to obtain.
    I finally purchased it from The Big indian Store.

    Frankly, i am pleased with the quality.

    If this information could help anyone...

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  32. Krisya, thanks for the information.

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  33. Great combination. I made this rasam yesterday - delicious and so so easy. I will try it with chutney the next time.

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  34. Kollu paruppu and kollu rasam - just thinking about it ... slurp *drools*

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  35. Indo, "Thati pota nalla varum matum" ellai. When the onion or Garlic are smashed, the biochemicals released as a defense mechanism are good for you.Smash and leave it for 10 minutes and then use it for cooking. Mom is more than right. Enjoyed your blog.

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