Kollu Masiyal - HorseGram Masiyal

Until couple of days back I had never thought of including kollu (horsegram) in my menu. I was actually thinking they were used only for cattle feed. But when I happened to watch a cookery show in which Madam Revathy Shanmugam was making a dish out of Kollu and she was talking about its health benefits, instantly I started browsing to know more about it and I prepared this masiyal the next day itself. As I haven't tasted any dish made out of this legume I was little scared as how it would taste, thankfully there was no compromise :-)

Few things has to be noted while cooking this legume. Like any other legume this has to be soaked overnight or atleast for 5-6 hours and then pressure cooked for 3 whistles and then simmer for 5-10 mins. It doesn't mash up well like the dals. So I had to give a pulse using my mixer to get a coarse texture. You can use the kollu cooked water for making kollu rasam. I made the rasam too, recipe to be posted soon. You can also sprout this like any other pulses to improve its nutritive value

Ingredients

Kollu - 1/2 cup (soaked overnight)
Shallots - 6
Garlic cloves - 5 or 6
Tomato - 1
Green chilli - 1
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Salt as per taste

To Temper

Oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and red chillies

Method

• Take a pressure cooker and add the soaked kollu, shallots, garlic, chopped tomatoes, green chilli, cumin seeds, turmeric powder and hing. Add enough water to pressure cook. Close the lid and cook for 3 whistles in high flame and simmer for 7-10 minutes.
• Allow the pressure to subside. Drain excess water and reserve this for using Kollu Rasam. Use a hand blender or a mixer to mash/grind it coarsely. If using a mixer just pulse twice or thrice. A coarse texture should be fine. You cannot mash it easily like we do for the dals. Add required salt and  mix well.
• Do the tempering and add it to the masiyal. Enjoy the nutritious kollu masiyal with hot rice.

Health Benefits

Kollu aids in reducing cholestrol to a great extent. It helps relieve menstrual problems in women. Regular intake of horsegram water or adding adding sprouts or any horsegram recipes in your diet daily treats irregular periods. Horsegram water is also used for regulating fever and treating cough/cold. Taking horsegram powder  in a little bit of water regularly, helps in treating and controlling skin rashes and boils.