horse gram uttapam and a refreshing chutny



The uttapam and the chutney both are special in this post , the uttapam is actually a cousin of the punjabi besan ka pooda and the chutney is a very very refreshing and aromatic tangy concoction you'd love with something like this pooda or any other kind of uttapam-dosa family of savory pancakes....

Horse gram is a very popular health food , fit for weight loss , recommended for water retention and iron deficiencies....it is grown and eaten in many parts of India but unfortunately i am the one who has not grown up eating this..........

Known as kulith , kulthi , gahat , hurali etc. ....I adopted this legume later in life when i saw it in Jharkhand , it is a part of the tribal culture n cuisine there and they know about it's health benefits ....they make soup like daals and badis with this legume and when i wanted to experiment with this legume i first mixed it with whole masoor daal to make a spicy mixed daal makhni style.........it was a successful experiment and i got confident about using this daal in many other ways...........later on i made parathas and sprouts and many more things with this legume just to pat my own back regarding my health conscious cooking...

Later on i learnt that it is a popular daal in other states too , the southern states and the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand , himachal and J&K ...they make a very interesting dumpling soup with it and many more recipes ...there are many Himachali recipes to choose from if you want to include this wonderful legume in your food............not to forget many many recipes from the southern states ......rasam n sambar style.............just search for it n you get a thousand options ......make whatever suits your style .....

I wonder why horse gram is not a part of daily food in the central Indian states , it was not known in my house and even in my in law's house ....as soon as i introduced this to our daals and poodas , it is a much appreciated food now.....legumes are loved anyways and this one for it's immense health benefits.


I found organic horse gram from Navdanya outlet at Dilli Haat after a long time
( now that i have started going out this is one of the rewards ) ........
i made many recipes with this legume and hopefully i will be posting them here , i have been so irregular with my posts that i feel like a fat couch potato ...if the couch potato was a humanoid ......i feel like one with all it's appendages ....all the faculties withdrawn ......to become round....and still motionless........needs a loud kick to start rolling again .......

I have started a healthy routine of long morning walks and that was after a major health scare i got some time back......the body always reminds you to take care of it ...to get rolling and kicking......:)


For this pooda- uttapam , i used whole kulith with skin , it would have been a less cohesive batter if i used the horse gram only , so i added some split yellow peas to it to make it more easily workable and to make the taste better too.

Soaked over night , the 50/50 mixture of these legumes is all ready to be made into a paste.....with ginger- garlic-green chilly -salt n pepper for seasoning , the paste can be made ahead of time and can even be frozen for future use........i made some other recipes with this paste too and they will be appearing here very soon......


To proceed , chop some onions and green coriander leaves and some fresh curry patta , mix with the batter and it's ready to hit the frying pan............spread it on the hot flat based pan , as thick or thin you want and cook with minimal oil ....both sides till it gets golden brown and crisp ..........ready to serve....


This uttapam/pooda is very crisp on the outside and very soft inside if you make it a bit thicker as i did , yellow split peas make it really tasty as if it is made with just the kulith it tastes a little more earthy ....i found this combination of legumes great for a pooda and to top it all .......the earthy flavors of the pooda with hints of curry patta n the onions which get caramelized while the pooda is fried , mingle very well with the aromatic chutny.......the best uttapam chutny combo i have tried so far..........

And the green refreshing chutny is a gem.......this chutny is the perfect healthy way with raw antioxidants.........see how..

fresh basil leaves 1 cup
fresh mint leaves 1/2 cup
fresh coriander leaves 1 cup
spring onion greens and bulb chopped 1 cup
green chillies 5-6 or to taste ( i added a pinch of red chilly powder too )
garlic cloves 5-6 nos.
raw mango chopped 1 cup
salt to taste

Whiz all of it into the grinder or any kitchen gadget you use to pulp things up.......and the fresh aroma of this chutny will make your day ......

Keep the ingredients ready in the fridge and liquidize when needed , though it keeps well for a couple of days but it is best fresh ....with hot savory pancakes of your choice ........even with parathas or anything you fancy....this is very very versatile...........


I find this chutny very very healthy and in a way it is my version of a green grasshopper or whatever it is called.......the spinach and fruit smoothie many people take for the breakfast , of course with all the health benefits...........i could never get to have that green smoothie .........this is my savory answer to green monster/grasshopper..........i love to have a big bowlful of this with a small pooda or even with a sandwich/pita bread breakfast.............

A fresh way to kick start the day..........

enjoy.

Comments

  1. So true dear, living in central India I was never exposed to this legume but my folks in Maharashtra did use it and we used to get small parcels from there.
    Sadly I am unable to use this much as S has a problem with it. But undoubtedly this an extremely healthy option and I am mighty impressed with the ingredients going into the chutney.

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  2. This horse gram looks amazingly healthy and delicious. Wow, I feel stronger already reading and looking at the photos.

    Hope all is well.

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  3. Woww.. healthy and delicious utappam.. looks perfect dear.. thanks for the recipe.. gr8 job!!

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  4. lovely, delicious, and healthy utthappam

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  5. Very healthy uttapam and a nice healthy chutney to go with.I must try your antioxidant chutney

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  6. Thats really healthy. Looks tasty too :)

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  7. A completely new yet intriguing healthy dish!

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  8. Dear Sangeeta
    Very innovative indeed. I have eaten Kolotho ( as known in Orissa) a lot...normally it is also used to adulterate in many dals like Tuar, Bengal gram, Matar dal etc.
    I shall try the chutney soon. I dont like Kulthi taste.
    Have a nice sunday

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  9. Uttapam is fantastic! So healthy!

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  10. Sangeeta, that is really healthy looking. Very very tempting.

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  11. Thanks everybody for all the sweet words.

    Velva ... i am good and all is well , that is what i am working towards...thanks for the concern.

    Ushnish...yes the taste of kulith is not good , earth is what i said but that is a very mild description of the taste , i see that many people have described this legume as very tasty one . I have added the yellow peas daal for taste as well as texture and the foul taste of kulthi gets transformed....you get a hint of that earthiness which is nice in this recipe . I found the dried badi unbelievably good in taste too.

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  12. uttapam looks crispy....sangeeta guess what we had for our breakfast today....besan ka pooda(well it did had some other flours also in it)....I also bought few weeks back horse gram but haven't used it yet....was thinking of making it like dal but thanks for sharing your views about it's taste so I guess I'm gonna start by mixing it little bit with some known flavor dals.....right about chutney I can eat it bowl full anytime....

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  13. ya horsgram is definitely not as wildly popular as other dals. in kerala we make grind it to a paste along with tamarind and have a chutney or cook it with a variety of pink tubers called Kaachil and is generally had during the thiruvadira season which comes along in the year end. its delicious! i love this recipe!! and will make it when i am home next month. i dont have any stock here! i am so jealous of the way you casually drop your dilli haat navdanya visit. i miss dilli haat so much :(

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  15. oo lala :) By mistake I got the horsegram sprouts, thinking it was moth... And just made the cheela with moong daal sprouts.. I must say that it was difficult to spread it when compared to mung daal paste.... thanks for introducing to this daal, never knew it existed till I saw your post few days back.. Waiting for the other recipes of the same :) Am just thinking of trying to make katlis of these two sprouts with chana daal.... :-P

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  16. And Horse gram is supposed to be healthy, if sprouted and consumed.

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  17. lovely -kultha is recommended for people with kidney stones too-thats how I came to know of it - my mom had a small nodule in her kidney and it painlessly disintegrated after she ate well for a few months -including kultha daal .Though i didn't find it particularly tasty.Though I must try this style of eating it !

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  18. Yes varsha...even i got to know about this legume regarding the same quality of it.
    Helping in purging out the kidney stones.
    Then i researched some more and found that the tribals of Jharkhand knew more about it :)

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  19. hi sangeeta ..a very innovative recipe. At my place make a chutney kind of thing with it.
    Boil the H gram(after soaking for few hours)saute onion(shallots) ginger garlic and red chilles or green chilles in coconut oil and grind it with the cooked dal in to a coarse paste. It is very tasty and goes well with rice, roil,dosa whatever..

    The water used to boil the dal is use to make kollu rasam.

    Happy healthy eating to u

    Praseeda

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  20. Hi Sangeetha, I am trying to find a recipe for horsegram chutney which I had once and it was amazing. t is made after fermenting horsegram, resembles a thick black bean sauce, and is eaten with rice. I was told it is made in Hasan district of Karnataka, but unable to find any recipes online. Have you heard of this one?

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    1. Hi Chattywren, sice I have never tasted anything that matches your description I asked a few friends who would know better. A very knowledgeable friend Nirupama Sunder told me a recipe that fits your description, called Ulavacharu. To make this, soak Horse Gram for 4 to 5 hrs, add enough water and pressure cook for 5 whistles, keep the water aside and again pressure cook with some more water, collect the water from the cooked Horse Gram for 4 to 5 times. The consistency of the water is thick since we add just enough water to cover the HG , now take a pan add the collected HG gravy, add enough tamarind paste or extract, some garlic pods, curry leaves, tomatoes if you want, haldi, salt, and allow it to boil till it forms a thick paste of ketchup consistency, now remove from heat and make a tadka with mustard, jeera, urad and channa dall, and red chillies.
      While boiling she told that green chillies and red chilli powder too is added, since it is a spicier dish. The HG is not fermented, but this is a variety of black HG chutney that suits your description.
      Hope it helps.

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