Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Serves: 1.5 litre

Ingredients: (measuring cup used = 240ml)

1. 1/2 cup horse gram or huruli kaalu
2. 1 small gooseberry sized tamarind (or as per your taste)
3. 1 small gooseberry sized jaggery (or as per your taste)
4. 2 tsp salt (or as per your taste)
5. 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Ingredients for grinding:

1. 2 - 4 red chili
2. 1.5 tsp coriander seeds
3. 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4. A pinch of asafoetida
5. 7 - 8 fenugreek seeds
6. 1/4 cup grated coconut
7. 1 tsp cooking oil

Ingredients for tempering:

1. 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2. 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3. A big pinch of asafoetida or 4 cloves of garlic
4. 5 - 6 curry leaves
5. 2 tsp cooking oil

Instructions for making huruli kaalu saaru or horse gram rasam:

1. Rinse and cook horse gram by adding required water. If you have time you can soak it before cooking or you can even use the horse gram sprouts.
2. Cook until soft. I cooked it in a pressure cooker by making 2 - 2 - 2 whistles. That is like making 2 whistles, once the presure subsides again making 2 whistles and again 2 whistles.
3. Next drain the water from cooked horse gram. Keep it aside.
4. Meanwhile heat a frying pan and fry red chilies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida and fenugreek seeds using 1 tsp of oil. (You can also use rasam powder and grind rasam powder with coconut).
5. Grind roasted ingredients along with grated coconut until smooth paste.
6. Add in about 1/2 cup of cooked horsegram and again grind until smooth.
7. Add in ground paste into the container, which has cooked horse gram stock or drained water.
8. Add in required salt, tamarind extract, jaggery and water.
9. Bring it to boil, add in chopped corinader leaves and switch off the stove.
10. Temper it with oil, red chili, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida (or crushed garlic). Serve it with hot steaming rice.

Dear reader, We have a Kannada version of this recipe. Click here to read this recipe in Kannada.