Horse Gram is not just for Horses!
One of the most under rated legumes, Horse Gram was a find for me personally.
I had never seen it during my childhood. It is only after settling down in Tamil Nadu that we learnt the extensive use of Horse Gram. And we are now big fans of this superfood of sorts.
Five reasons why you have to try it, if you have not already:
1. High in protein, like any other legume or lentil
2. High in calcium, more than in spinach/Paalak
3. Black horsegram is high in antioxidants
4. It is a warming food, according to Ayurveda, so keeps us warm during winter months
5. Particularly known for helping asthma & aiding to get rid of mucus in the respiratory tract
How to use it?
Two traditional recipes:
1. Kollu Rasam. Kollu is Horse Gram in Tamil. And you can make a warm and spicy rasam out of it especially for the winter months. Just soak overnight, boil it, add the usual ingredients (pepper garlic etc) as you would for a rasam. Enjoy it as a soup or a warm drink or mix it with rice for a meal.
2. Kollu Thogayal, or dry chutney. Roast the Horse Gram, grind with other ingredients (grated coconut, garlic, roasted chana, curry leaves, tamarind, pepper, salt etc.) to a semi solid consistency. Mix with rice for a meal or enjoy it with Idli or Dosai.
The particular benefit of Horse Gram is that you can easily add it to your meals and enjoy sufficient amount of it, thereby combining nutrition with taste in a remarkably different way.
So dals is not just urad, moong and arhar/tuvar.
Lets expand our repertoire with Horse Gram!
