The botanical name for Horse Gram is Macrotyloma uniflorum. Though most commonly referred to as horse gram It is also called the poor man’s pulse, horse grain or Madras beans.One can find them in an Indian Stores by asking for Horse Gram . Horse Gram is considered a good source of Iron and Molybdenum.
This dish is from the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It is traditionally eaten with rice and served with sour cream. The dish can be made thick or thin depending on individual tastes and preferences. One will find this dish being served with reasonable frequency at wedding banquets as it is considered a delicacy.
The traditional method of making this dish is a slow cooking process. In the village, the Horse Gram is usually slow cooked every day as cattle feed. This is done by cooking the gram in a huge pot over a low open fire with about 8 times the amount of water in ratio to the horse gram. The cooking is begun at day break and cooked all day. It is removed from the heat in the evening. At this stage some of the liquid is then separated to be further cooked for the family’s consumption. The rest is used as cattle feed.
The recipe provided here uses a crock-pot to achieve the slow cooking process.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup ulavalu (horse gram)
- 8 cups water
- 5 green chilies slit length wise
- 1 onion (diced large)
- 2 whole dry red chilies
- leaves from 2 curry leaf stems
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tbsp tamarind paste
- 1 tsp jaggery or sugar
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp oil
- Salt to taste
Method:
- Soak the horse gram (ulavalu) overnight
- Put the soaked horse gram in the crock-pot with 8 cups of water and cook on low for 10 hrs.
- Heat a table spoon of oil in a pan. Add the green chilies and onions to it and cook till the onions are transparent.
- Strain out the liquid in the crock-pot and discard the horse gram.
- Add the tamarind paste, jaggery, salt, cooked onions and green chilies, to the liquid and cook in the crock-pot on low for another 10 hrs.
- At this stage one can either remove from the crock pot or cook further depending on the consistency one prefers. To make it into a thick paste it needs to be cooked for atleast 5 more days.
- In a separate pan heat the remaining oil. Add the red chilies, garlic, cumin and mustard to the oil.
- When the seeds start spluttering add the curry leaves too and remove from heat after a min.
- Add the seasoning mix to the hot soup and mix well. Serve on hot rice with sour cream on the side.
This dish is supposed to generate heat in the body and care should be taken not to consume too much in summer. It is also advised to avoid this dish during pregnancy as it does cause over heating of the body.
