Hurali Saaru |Bengaluru’s Signature Horse Gram Sambar – Deesha’s recipe

I have said this before and will probably do many times over in future too, that blogging has brought me to know some really lovely people whom I would have never met otherwise.

Deesha of Vegetable Platter, whom I fondly call “Dee” is one such person. For all you know, I discovered and connected with Dee on twitter and happily so.

Dee happens to be from my city, one of my more favorite places in the whole world – Bengalooru (Bangalore). Now, that is not just the mere reason we connected. Dee is a great cook, a veteran blogger (has been blogging much much before I had even started a blog) and has lovely recipes and beautiful pictures on her vegetarian food blog and mouthwatering home style Karnataka recipes Nucchinunde, Halbai, Gojjavalakki, Akki tari Uppittu to name a few. You’d never find those in retaurants! Not just that, she has a keen eye for some cool traditional brass and copper props too..

Being from Bengalooru, a colloquial shortcut for “Benda kaalooru” (in olden days) which translates to “a city of cooked lentills”, quite aptly she is bringing today, a very classic and typical Bengalooru dish and her childhood favorite – Hurali Saaru.

Thanks a bunch for guest posting such a local recipe, Dee. I am so homesick now!

Over to you..

Even though, I have been following Just Homemade for quite sometime, I connected with Radhika quite recently and I am glad I did. I love her blog and she is as lovely as her blog. And, I am quite thrilled to be writing a Guest Post on Just Home Made – A blog with some very beautiful photography and awesome recipes.

When Radhika asked me to pick a childhood favorite recipe, it didn’t take very long for me to decide, Hurali Saaru it is going to be!

It is winter here in Bangalore and it is a perfect excuse to make some piping hot Hurali Saaru. All you non-Kannadigas, who are wondering what Hurali Saaru is, it is a kind of Rasam made with Horse gram along with other pulses. It is a very old and traditional recipe made mostly in Bangalore/Mysore/Hassan regions of Karnataka

Hurali Saaru makes use of Horse Gram as the main ingredient along with Mung Beans & Black Eyed peas in smaller quantities. Once these pulses are cooked, a portion of these are ground along with coconut & spices & made into a Rasam/Saaru and the remaining portion is made into a Usli or a quick Stir fry that is served along with Rasam & Rice. And, according to Ayurveda, Horse gram generates a lot of heat in the body, which is why it is mostly made during winter/rainy season.

My maternal Grandmother or Ajji as I call her in Kannada makes one of the best Hurali Saaru I’ve ever eaten & undoubtedly, she is the one who taught me how to make this.

Let’s jump to the recipe shall we?

Hurali Saaru Recipe

Printable Recipe
Things you’ll need:
1 cup Horse Gram / Hurali kaalu
½ cup Mung Beans / green gram
½ cup Black eyed peas
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
A big pinch of hing / asafetida
A sprig of curry leaves
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp sunflower oil
Chopped coriander for garnish
Salt as per taste

To Grind

1 big onion, roughly chopped
1 big ripe tomato, roughly chopped
2 tbsp fresh grated coconut / thawed frozen coconut
½ tsp turmeric
8-10 dry red chilies – I used Byadagi
2 tsp coriander seeds
A small stick of cinnamon

To Temper

½  tsp mustard seeds
A sprig of curry leaves
1 tsp Ghee
a big pinch of Hing / asafoetida

How it’s done:

Wash the pulses in running water & soak them for about 6-8 hrs

• Drain & sprout them using a sprout maker or in a colander, covered with a lid.
• Pressure cook pulses with a bit of salt until soft yet firm using 3 glasses of water.
• Drain the water for later use & set aside the pulses.
• In a pan, dry roast red chilies, coriander seeds & cinnamon until aromatic.
• Grind them with coconut, chopped onion & tomato, turmeric along with a tbsp of cooked pulses using very little water into a smooth paste
• In a pot, add the water that was set aside & bring it to a boil. Add the ground paste, salt & 2 tbsp of cooked pulsed & simmer for about 10 mins. Add 2 more glasses of water as you simmer to get a Rasam like consistency.
• Temper with Desi Ghee, mustard seeds, curry leaves & Hing. Pour this over the Rasam/Saaru. Cover & set aside

To Make Usli:

• In a Kadhai, heat oil & splutter mustard & cumin seeds. Add Hing & curry leaves & saute for 10 secs. Add cooked pulses, grated coconut, Salt as per taste. Mix well.
• Turn off the stove & Add Lemon juice & mix again. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander

Serve Hot Rasam & Usli along with some steamed Rice or even Ragi Mudde (Finger Millet Dumplings)

NOTE: It is not mandatory to sprout the pulses. You may soak them for about 2 hrs & make this but sprouting them definitely adds to its nutritional value.

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