Saturday, November 22, 2008

Kollu Rasam II (Horsegram Soup)

The auto industry today reminds me of what the computer programmers were going through in the late 90s when new technologies were leaving COBOL programmers behind. Retooling was in order and everybody took responsibility and moved on. As I recall there was no government bailout.

When the Asian car manufacturers were coming up with smaller, sleeker, energy efficient and cheaper models, Detroit was still churning gas guzzling SUVs. I still remember a decade and half ago people had twitches of conscience buying a Japanese model not anymore, things have turned 180 degrees it would be unpatriotic to buy yourself a Detroit behemoth now. The day GM released its new Hummer model with much fanfare was the same time Toyota Prius had a huge waiting list. What exactly were they thinking?

Like the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says how these companies have devised a perfect system where they keep all the profits and we the public - the tax payer is left holding the bag. It is a very informative show on Credit and Credibility. Do watch if you find time

With the chill going on everywhere a nice warming cup of rasam to chase away the colds and gloom was in order. Down home remedies to keep the cold at bay and also a perfect meal on a cold windy day. If you are not in a mood to cook horse gram but ok with roasting it a bit for a quick rasam, this recipe is the one.

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Serves: 4

Ingredients
1. 1 1/2 tbsp horse gram
2. 2 tsp coriander seeds
3. 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4. 1-2 tsp pepper corn (reduce pepper if adding red chilies)
5. 1/2 red chili
6. a bit of red onion or small onion smashed and chopped roughly
7. 3 garlic cloves smashed and chopped rougly
8. 1/2 tomato chopped
9. seasonings: hing, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves
10. coriander leaves for garnish
11. 1/4 cup worth of tamarind pulp from about a small chery tomato sized
12. salt to taste

Method
1. Toast the horse gram till it starts to splutter, set aside
2. Toast the coriander, cumin, peppercorn and red chili and cool
3. Now powder the toasted ingredients to a slightly coarse powder
4. In a pan heat a bit of ghee, add the seasonings and when the mustard starts to splutter add the onions and saute till translucent
5. add the garlic and saute followed by the tomatoes till they become soft
6. Now add the powdered horsegram and mix well.
7. Add the tamarind pulp with about 3 cups of water.
8. Let it come to a boil. Add salt, garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve as a soup or with rice.



16 comments:

  1. I am hunting for this legume high and low. Neither the Indian store nor the Asian market seem to carry it. There aren't any online vendors too.

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  2. Patel brothers( http://www.patelbrothersusa.com/about_us.asp) sell this online, although they are out-of-stock right now..

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  3. This is nice and healthy! I am off to watch the video link...

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  4. You always bring back memories of home..

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  5. I'll give this a try... maybe today.. cold and gloom on this side of the continent too. :(

    The bailouts are totally insane...

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  6. Ouuuu, another rasam recipe to tempt me to make this dish.

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  7. Never had rasma with this.
    It looks so yumm.

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  8. The auto industry and their CEO's less said the better. Their attitude, expense makes my blood boil.

    This rasam is totally new to me. The only thing I thing with horse gram is dry curry. I have bookmarked this, ISG.

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  9. Was planning to make it again this week bu twice I forgot to soak the kollu overnight. U somehow had read my mind and comeup with this wonderful alernate. Thanks a ton dear!

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  10. lovely soup indo , nice recipe

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  11. The size of the cars in the US did shock me somewhat. It's like the depletion of a natural resource was never a concern! Rasam is pure genius for colds by the way. Sia gave me a recipe and I haven't touched cold meds since.

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  12. I just read about Kollu at Kay's place and the very next link I click is yours, and here is another Kollu dish :) What are the odds! I don't even know what that tastes like!
    Happy Thanksgiving!

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  13. i've always wondered how to cook this. i have a maharashtrian recipe for usal with this, but this rasam sounds better.

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  14. RC, give the rasam a try and I assure you, you will be hooked.

    Kay, perfect way to ward off those blues.

    Nirmala, I never soak the beans overnight, just let them cook in the pressure cooker for a few more whistles. But the genius of this rasam is it is almost instant.

    Mallika, horse gram especially is very potent. It wards off colds faster than chicken soup!

    Sig, time to get hold of some horse gram and test it out.

    Bee, the most traditional ones as far as I know is chutney and rasam. I bet it tastes good in usal as well. This method of rasam can be marked off as the instant variety.

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  15. Happy Thanksgiving to you and family, Indo! :))

    Hurulikalu, as we call it, is fortunately available to me here. I make Huruli Kattu, kind of thick paste, you get by boiling for days and days but heavenly to eat with ghee and rice.I will post someday. Rasam looks yummy.

    New work on the floor statets day after Thanksgiving,so I will be busy and on Dec 15th, we are driving to Orlando for 15 days.YAY!

    Have fun. Yeah, I wish I was a CEO of an auto industry,so I can zoom to FL in a private jet, while all the others can drive themselves!! ;D

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  16. I love this rasam..We made it often in Karnataka too..Great recipe.

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