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A bowl of homemade kollu rasam made with horse gram, served hot with coriander.

Kollu Rasam (Horse Gram Rasam)

A warm and healthy Kollu Rasam (Horse Gram Rasam) made with boiled horse gram water, freshly crushed spices, garlic, and tamarind. This rasam is perfect for digestion, immunity, and winter comfort. Simple, flavorful, and best served with hot rice or as a light soup.
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Prep Time 8 hours 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: dinner, lunch, rasam, soups
Cuisine: Indian, southindian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • For soaking & boiling horse gram
  • 1 cup horse gram (100gms) soaked with water and boiled it or pressure cook it with 6 to 7 whistles
  • 1 cup boiled horse gram water
  • For grinding
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tbsp pepper seeds
  • 2 nos dry red chillies
  • 2 tbsp boiled horse gram
  • For tempering & rasam
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp mustard seeds
  • 2 nos dry red chillies broken
  • 6 -8 nos garlic cloves smashed, skin on
  • 1 strand curry leaves
  • 1 no medium tomato finely chopped
  • ¼ tbsp turmeric powder
  • 1 cups horse gram boiled water
  • Tamarind – small lemon size soaked & pulp extracted
  • Salt – as needed
  • Coriander leaves – chopped
  • A pinch of jaggery

Equipment

  • 1 clay pot Optional
  • 1 heavy pan

Method
 

  1. Soak 100g horse gram in water for 8 hours
  2. Pressure cook for 6–7 whistles or boil until soft.
  3. Reserve the boiled horse gram water.
  4. Take 1–2 teaspoons of the boiled horse gram for grinding.
  5. In a mixer, add cumin seeds, pepper seeds, and 2 red chillies.
  6. Grind once, then add 1–2 tsp boiled horse gram.
  7. Coarsely grind and keep aside.
  8. Heat oil in a pan.
  9. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
  10. Add 2 broken red chillies and smashed garlic (with skin).
  11. Saute until garlic turns slightly brown.
  12. Add the ground paste and saute gently.
  13. Add the finely chopped tomato and turmeric powder.
  14. Pour a little water and cook until tomatoes soften.
  15. Add the reserved horse gram water.
  16. Boil for about 10 minutes until it comes to a rolling boil.
  17. Add tamarind extract (small lemon-sized tamarind soaked & pulp removed).
  18. Add salt to taste.
  19. Boil lightly until you see bubbles forming.
  20. Add chopped coriander leaves and a pinch of jaggery.
  21. Turn off the flame.
  22. Serve hot with steamed rice or sip as a warm soup.

Notes

  • Adjust tamarind according to your taste. Since we are adding a ripe tomato, the rasam will already have some natural tanginess — so add tamarind gradually and balance it based on your preference.
  • You can add extra garlic or pepper if you want a stronger flavour and more warmth, especially during winter.
  • Do not overboil after adding tamarind, as it can slightly change the taste of the rasam.
  • Adjust salt carefully. While boiling horse gram, we usually add a little salt, so the horse gram water already contains salt. Always add salt at the end after tasting.
  • Leftover boiled horse gram can be reused to make kollu chutney, kollu sundal, or even added back to the rasam for extra thickness.