Horse Gram Sambar

Today I am giving a healthy and yummy horse gram sambar. One of the legumes that is not very well known but is quite nutritious is the Horse Gram. It belongs to the family of Legumes. Horse gram is a very good source of protein, iron, calcium molybdenum, polyphenols which have high antioxidant capacity. This grain is considered as a part of weight loss diet.Horse gram has medicinal values for kidney stones. One day I tried myself sambar with horse gram instead of normal toor dal,then I got good result. From then I am making this monthly once. My husband likes this to eat with steamed rice or Idly. To avoid obesity definitely you should add this to your menu. I hope you like it too............Happy cooking............

Ingredients:
Horse gram - 1 cup
Onions - 2
Tomato - 1
Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp
Turmeric pwder - 1/4 tsp
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Tamarind pulp - 1 tbsp
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Jaggery - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - few
Salt to taste

 Method of preparation:

1. Soak horse gram over night in sufficient water.
2. Next day pressure cook and mash the horse gram. Keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add onion,ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, asafoetida and tomato. Saute for few minutes.
4. Now add tamarind pulp,jaggery, water, salt and sambar powder.
5. Once the raw smell of the sambar powder is gone, add horse gram paste.
6. Medium the flame and allow the contents to boil well. Switch off the gas and cover it with lid for 2 minutes.
7. Finally garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
8. Yummy horse gram sambar is ready to eat with steamed rice along with papads.

Horse Gram Salad

How to grow Horse Gram Sprouts?

One way to eat Horse gram is in the form of Sprouts.  It is fairly easy to grow sprouts from any legumes. Soak the desired amount of Horse gram in a wide bowl completely submerged in water. Once the Horse gram is soft when you bite on the legume, drain the water, rinse and put them in a very thin cotton cloth, a cheese cloth works the best. Keep the cloth damp and put it away in a dark place overnight. Usually by the end of the second day you will see small sprouts coming up. You can grow the sprouts to whatever length you desire and then add to them any dish. Make sure the seeds are soaked well and have enough air if you are putting them in a jar(keep the lid a slightly open). Don't let the seeds ferment, soaking them too long. Sprouts are high in Vitamin A, Thiamine, vitamin C, iron and potassium. Sprouting them also helps in reducing the production of gas which helps in digesting them much better than the dried horse gram. 

I am giving to you a recipe from horse gram sprouts. Horse gram salad is very tasty and healthy. To avoid obesity definitely you should eat this type of whole grains. One of the best ways to get fiber into our diet is to eat whole grains. Fiber is of two types, soluble and insoluble. Whole grains have soluble fiber and is extremely useful in reducing cholesterol levels in the body.  One of the legumes that is not very well known but is quite nutritious is the Horse Gram. Definitely every one can include into their breakfast menu at least twice a week. This is very ideal snack for children. For more details about horse gram see my nutritional values post.

Ingredients:

Horse gram  sprouts- 1 cup

Finely chopped onions - 1/4 cup

Green chilli - 1 

jeera - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Chana dal - 1 tsp

Uraddal - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Turmeric powder - pinch

Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Lime juice - 2 tsp

Rock salt or normal salt  to taste 

Oil - 1 tbsp

Method of preparation:

1. Pressure cook the horse gram sprouts with a pinch of turmeric and asafoetida in 2 cups of water for 3 whistles.
2. Heat some oil in a pan. Pop the mustard seeds,  jeera, chana dal, urad dal, curry leaves and green chilli.
3. Add chopped onions and saute until it turns into soft.
4. Add salt and horse gram sprouts and mix well.
5. Finally add lime juice and remove from heat and mix properly.
6. Now tasty and healthy salad is ready to eat.