Kollu Rasam – Traditional Horse Gram Rasam for Cold, Digestion & Immunity

 🔥 Kollu Rasam made without podi — a warm, peppery, immunity-boosting rasam using freshly crushed spices and nutritious kollu water!

 🌾 Kollu Rasam (No Podi Version)

Kollu (Horse Gram) is one of the most powerful lentils in traditional South Indian cooking. It’s excellent for clearing cold and cough, supporting digestion, reducing inflammation, and boosting overall immunity.

This rasam uses:
✔️ Overnight-soaked, pressure-cooked kollu
✔️ The strained, nutritious kollu water
✔️ Freshly crushed pepper, jeera & garlic
✔️ Tomato–tamarind base
✔️ Ghee tempering

No podi is used — the freshness of crushed spices makes this rasam deeply aromatic, earthy, and full of traditional healing goodness. It is perfect for cold days, recovery days, light lunch, or when you want a comforting, medicinal recipe.

 Recipe Overview

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15–20 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Serves: 4
• Cuisine: South Indian
• Course: Main / Soup

 ⭐ Ingredients

 ✅ Kollu Preparation

• Horse gram (kollu) – ½ cup
• Water – for soaking & cooking

 ✅ Fresh Spice Crush

• Black pepper – 1½ tsp
• Jeera – 1 tsp
• Garlic – 4–5 cloves

 ✅ For Rasam

• Tomatoes – 2, chopped
• Tamarind – lemon-sized, soaked
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
• Curry leaves – 1 sprig
• Salt – as required
• Coriander leaves – generous
• Ghee – 1 tbsp

 ✅ Tempering (Thalippu)

• Ghee – 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
• Hing – a pinch
• Jeera – optional

 👩‍🍳 Method

 Step 1: Cook Kollu & Extract Water

1. Soak horse gram overnight or for 8 hours.
2. Pressure cook 4 to 5 whistle.
3. Strain and collect the kollu water (this is the rasam base).
4. The cooked kollu can be used in sambar, poriyal, salads, or ground lightly and added for thickness.

 Step 2: Fresh Spice Crush

• Coarsely crush pepper, jeera, and garlic by hand or in pulse mode.
• Do not grind smooth — coarse gives best rasam flavour.

 Step 3: Make Rasam

1. Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a uruli.
2. Add chopped tomatoes and cook until soft and mushy.
3. Pour in tamarind water.
4. Add turmeric powder and the freshly crushed pepper–jeera–garlic mixture.
5. Boil until the raw smell of tamarind disappears.
6. Add curry leaves.
7. Add the strained kollu water and salt.
8. Keep flame low and heat until a frothy layer forms on top (do not boil).
9. Add chopped coriander leaves.

 Step 4: Tempering

1. Heat 1 tsp ghee in a small ladle.
2. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
3. Add hing and jeera (optional).
4. Pour over rasam and cover immediately to trap aroma.

 🍽️ Serving Suggestions

Serve hot with:

• Steamed rice + ghee
• Roasted appalam / vadam
• Simple vegetable stir-fry

Perfect as:
✔️ Cold, cough & fever remedy
✔️ Light lunch or dinner
✔️ Digestive drink

 💡 Tips

• Do not boil rasam vigorously — heat only until frothy.
• Freshly crushed pepper–jeera–garlic is the key flavour.
• Add a spoon of ground cooked kollu for a thicker medicinal version.
• Cover rasam after tempering to enhance aroma.

 🔄 Variations