Horse Gram Curry (කොල්ලු ආනම) – An Underrated Pulse in the world

A creamy & fulfilling dish for the entire family

Yield – 3 cups 

Prep. time – 7 minutes               Cooking time – 20 minutes 

I remember the first time I tasted Horse gram curry at my Bappa’s (my farther’s younger brother’s) place. This curry is one of Auntie Nava’s special and she served us for lunch with rice just before we went to see Dunhinda Ella (A famous waterfall in Sri Lanka). It was creamy, full of flavours and fulfilling. Somehow this curry was out of my radar for a very long time and years later it hits me back. After some research I found its amazing benefits and thought of include in my diet. 

Different people make this curry in their own style. Some with whole gram, blended or even with powder. I have tried couple of ways of cooking and this’s one the recipes and you can make it within 30 mins. The specialty of this dish is you can feed many with a small quantity of the gram. 

Compared to other lentils, Horse gram is high in protein and packed with dietary fibre. Due to its water absorbing capacity, it helps to keep you fulfilling and aid in weight loss as well. Having said that, this’s not recommend to eat on daily basis as pulses can create bloating due to high protein content.  

What you need: 

• 1 cup horse gram, soaked and rinsed 
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil 
• 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds 
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 
• 1/4 cup red onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon curry leaves
• 2 inch pardon leaf
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 2 green chillies, cut into two 
• 2 dried chillies, cut into 3
• 1/2 cup Roma tomato, chopped 
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon raw curry powder  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon roasted curry powder 
• 1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup coconut milk, thick 

For the garnish (Optional): 

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon curry leaves
• 2 dried chillies, cut into 2

Let’s Cook: 

1. Add horse gram into a blender jar with 1 cup of water and blend for 30 seconds until it becomes a thick paste. 
2. Take a dry pot, add coconut oil and heat for 1 minute on high heat. 
3. Add garlic, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds and sauté for about 30 seconds on medium heat. 
4. Add onion, curry leaves, pandon leaf, cinnamon, green chillies and dried chillies and sauté for 2 mins until they become bright and golden brown. 
5. Then add tomato and sauté for another minute. 
6. Add turmeric, raw curry powder, chilli powder, roasted curry powder, salt and combine together. 
7. Cook the mixture for a minute and add blended horse gram with 1 cup of water. 
8. Close the pot with a lid and continue cooking for another  5 – 6 mins on low heat. 
9. Add coconut milk and stir the mixture to homogenize it. 
10. 10.Cover it again and cook for another 7-8 minutes until smells and looks like cooked lentil with a thick gravy.  
11. Turn off the flame and serve (with or without garnishing) with steamy rice, bread, roti, string hoppers or finger millet energy balls.  

Let’s garnish: 

1. Add coconut oil in a dry pan and heat on medium for 30 – 40 seconds. 
2. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, dried chillies and let them crack for about 1 – 1 1/2 minutes. 
3. Turn off the flame and add into the curry. 

Tips: 

• Use good quality horse gram or check for impurities before use. 
• When cooking, make sure to stir in between to prevent burning. 

Make ahead info: 

• Soak horse gram in 2 cups of water for 30 – 60 mins and rinse for 2 – 3 times before use. This will reduce the cooking time and remove anti-nutritional factors allowing body to digest easily.