Horse gram (Kulith/Kolotho/Kollu) Rasam

Horse gram rasam has become my go-to drink over the past week even surpassing the favorite ginger tea. Yes, it is almost magical on a sore throat and also helps in digestion. Most of us would be aware of the benefits of rasam and horse gram, so combining these two packs a double punch. Even when it comes to taste!!

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 25-30 mins

Ingredients -

• a handful of horse gram
• 1 large tomato
• 1 lemon sized ball of tamarind
• pinch of turmeric
• salt to taste

For the rasam powder -

• 1 tsp peppercorn
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 dry red chilli
• 1 tsp toor dal
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida

For the tempering -

• 3-4 garlic flakes
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• dry red chilli
• 2 sprigs curry leaves
• 2 pinch asafoetida
• 2 tsp oil

Preparation - Dry roast all the ingredients for rasam powder. Allow to cool down and then grind into a smooth powder.
Soak the tamarind in 3 cups warm water for 20 mins. Squeeze out all the juice and discard the pulp.
Chop the tomato into small pieces.

Cooking - Soak the horse gram for 1-2 hours. Then cook it for 3-4 whistles in a pressure cooker along with 1 1/2 cups water, turmeric and salt. Keep aside till steam escapes.

Use a hand blender to mash up the cooked dal.

Boil the tamarind water with little turmeric and salt in a saucepan. Allow to boil for 5-6 minutes till the raw taste goes away.

Add the cooked dal along with the tomatoes at this point. Let it boil for 4-5 mins more.

Add the rasam powder dissolved in 1/2 cup water. Simmer for 2 minutes.

Heat oil in a tempering pan. Add broken red chilli, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Allow to splutter. Add chopped garlic, curry leaves and asafoetida. Fry for 30 seconds.

Pour the tempering over the hot rasam. Simmer for 3 minutes. Switch off flame.

Serve hot as a soup or have it along with plain rice.

Chilled Rasam & Sattu Drink: Latest variants from Paper Boat

Paper boat is back with more variants !!! This time it is rasam (???) and sattu (???). While folks from the North would balk at the mention of rasam, folks down south would do the same when it comes to sattu. Hence the strikingly differnt flavours to please all folks :)

Before we discuss the drinks further, let us get a lowdown of the benefits of each -

Benefits of Rasam -

1. Aids digestion.
2. Helpful in cases of flatulence.
3. Helps when one is down with cold/mild fever (thanks to pepper)
4. It is touted to have cholesterol lowering properties too (thanks to tamarind)
5. It is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and blood purifying too (thanks to garlic)



Benefits of Sattu -

1. Nutritious and also easily digestible.
2. High fiber content
3. Provides instant stamina
4. Great for diabetics and those suffering from high blood pressure.
5. Greatly refreshing, hence served as a cooling drink during the summers to prevent heatstroke.
6. A natural health drink that helps in maintaining weight.


How I find the stuff ?

Chilled Rasam is a dark brown liquid which is thicker than the regular 'hot rasam' and it lacks a bit of sweetness. Tastes good when chilled though and I think that I might even warm it a bit, add some tempering and have it with my rice.

The Sattu variant is quite thick just like the original stuff. But i would have liked it to be a tad bit sweeter and less sour (though some people do add a little lemon juice to it). I found it to more refreshing than the other variants (with the exception of Aam Panna).

Why would I recommend Paper Boat drinks ??

Yaay's -

1. Low on sugar ( just 1.65 g/100ml for Sattu Drink & zero for Chilled Rasam)
2. Traditional Indian flavours
3. Low on calories ( 31.5 Kcal/100 ml for Sattu Drink and 14 Kcal/100ml for Chilled Rasam )
4. No preservatives
5. No added colors
6. All natural ingredients
7. Nice taste (when slightly chilled)
8. Priced at Rupees 30/250 ml.
9. Gluten free
10. Low GI & low calorie.

Naay's -

1. None. (though i would not mind if both are a tad sweeter)