South Indian style tempered horse gram made with horse gram, spices and herbs. This easy to make side dish is a healthy, protein packed and tastes delicious.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 35 minutes
  • Total time: 520 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Side
  • Cuisine: Indian cuisine

Ingredients

  • ½ cup Horse gram ((Kulith, kollu, ulavalu))
  • 1 tablespoon oil ((or ghee))
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon urad dal ((optional))
  • ½ teaspoon chana dal ((optional))
  • 1 dried red chilli
  • 2 garlic cloves ((crushed))
  • 1 green chilli (slit, if required deseed for less heat)
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
  • ¼ teaspoon red chlli powder
  • ½ teaspoon cumin powder
  • ½ teaspoon coriander powder
  • ⅓ teaspoon salt ((adjust to taste))
  • 3 to 4 tablespoon fresh coconut ((or frozen))

Method

How to Cook Horse Gram Dal

  1. Add horse gram to a pot. Pick and discard any stone and debris. Rinse very well 4 to 5 times. Pour 3 cups water and soak them overnight.
  2. In the morning discard the water if you want. A lot of people want to use the same water since all of the flavor is in the soaked water.
  3. On a medium heat, pressure cook the lentils with 1 cup water for 1 whistle. Lower the heat and cook for another 30 minutes, until soft and tender. To cook in instant pot, press the pressure cook button and set the timer to 10 mins.
  4. When the pressure drops, open the lid and check horse gram has to be soft yet hold its shape. If the lentils are still undercooked pressure with a little more water for little longer.

Tempering

  1. Pour oil or ghee to a pan and heat it. Turn the flame to medium and add mustard, cumin, dal and red chilli.
  2. Saute until the dal turns golden. Then add crushed garlic, green chili and curry leaves.
  3. Fry till the garlic and chilli begins to smell good. Reduce the heat and add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder.
  4. Stir and add the cooked horse gram along with the stock (water in which they were cooked). Increase the flame slightly and cook covered so they absorb the flavors of the spices.
  5. After 3 mins, open cook until all of the water evaporates. Taste test and add more salt if required. Add the coconut and mix well. Turn off the heat.
  6. Squeeze some lemon juice before serving the tempered horse gram dal with plain rice, roti or a side with rasam rice.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.