Saturday, February 26, 2011

Molake Hurali Saaru / Kollu Rasam - Horse Gram Thin Soup

MOLAKE HURALI SAARU/ KOLLU RASAM

                                           

Molake Hurali Saaru ( Kannada) or Kollu Rasam ( Tamil ) is a very tasty and healthy dish, which has various medicinal properties. My mother used to prepare it only sparingly,  saying that it had a severe heating property, and insisted that we savoured it with a liberal scoop of pure ghee. Molake Hurali or Sprouted Horse Gram tastes very good in salads and raitas.

INGREDIENTS

Sprouted horse gram - 2 cups
Tamarind - 1 small marble size
Tomato - 1 big
Rasam Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Curry leaves - a few
Freshly chopped coriander leaves - 1 tbsp
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Ghee - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

TO MAKE SPROUTS

1. Wash and soak horse gram overnight.
2. Drain the soaked horse gram through a clean white towel .
3. Bundle the soaked horse gram in the same towel and store in a vessel covering it with a tight lid. A casserole or a hot box will be perfect for the purpose.
4. Leave the vessel undisturbed for one more night.The wet towel is enough to retain the moisture needed for sprouting.
5. Horse Gram Sprouts will be ready by the next morning.

                                      

MOLAKE HURALI SAARU/ KOLLU RASAM

1. Add turmeric and pressure cook sprouted Horse Gram with one cup of water.
2. Soak tamarind and the chopped tomato in warm water and extract juice to make two cups.
3. Add salt, rasam powder ( can be substituted with one slit green chilly), asafoetida and curry leaves to the juice.
4. Boil the above for ten minutes on low flame.
5. Take out 2 tbsps of the cooked sprouts and grind it to a smooth paste.
6. Add the cooked sprouts and the paste to the boiling saaru/rasam.
7. Cook for two more minutes till all the ingredients blend together.
8. Lower the flame and add 2 cups of water in a steady stream so that bubbles are formed on top of the saaru/rasam.
9. Add coarsely crushed pepper, cumin seeds and garlic cloves to the saaru/rasam.
10. Top it with fresh coriander leaves.
11. Do not stir the saaru/rasam and allow it to form a thick foam on top.
12. Switch off flame when it is just about to boil, and immediately remove the vessel from the stove.
 DO NOT BOIL SAARU/RASAM to preserve the wonderful flavour.
13. Heat ghee and splutter mustard seeds, and pour the seasoning on top of the saaru/rasam.

Molake Hurali Saaru/Kollu Rasam can be savoured with hot steaming rice or Ragi Muddae.
It can be thickened by adding more of the hurali/kollu paste and savoured as a thick soup.

                                  

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It can be sipped as a thin saaru/rasam by adding more water according to the requirement.

But do not forget to top the Molake Hurali Saaru/Kollu Rasam with a teaspoon of pure ghee before you start relishing the Ambrosia!

Sending this thin soup to Divya's Show Me Your Soup event in Dil Se!