Kollu Thokku / Kaanam Thokku / Horsegram Thokku

Whole Grains are a part of our every day diet since a long time. However over the past decade their sheen has reduced owing to the influx of western foods. Nowadays whenever I share with my friends that I had prepared Sama Arisi or some dish using any wholegrain (Rice Dish made from Little Millets), the immediate enquiry from their end used to be, “Is anyone ill or diabetic at your home?”. Such a misconception exists in our society that nowadays whole grains are associated only as a cure to treat some illness or opt food for diabetic.

From being a staple diet once upon a time, these highly nutritional dishes are pushed to the brink of extinction and this is my small attempt to bring such old, gold dishes back to the world through my blog. Kaanam(Horsegram) Thokku – A simple chutney prepared just by mincing the cooked horse gram along with dry red chilli and whole black pepper using a mortar and a pestle. Instead of mortar and pestle, I used blender to make this chutney. It goes well with hot steamed rice or as a side dish for dosa.

Basic Information:

Preparation and cooking time: <15 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Kollu / Horse gram / Kaanam – 1/2 cup

Water – 2 cups

Salt – to taste

Whole black pepper – 2 teaspoons

Dry red chilli – 4 nos or adjust to your taste

Method:

1) Wash and soak horse gram for 15 minutes.

2) After 15 minutes, pressure cook it by adding 2 cups of water. Wait for 4-5 whistles and the steam suppresses well.

3) Meanwhile, dry roast dry red chilli and whole black pepper in low flame. Keep aside.

4) Once the steam suppresses from the pressure cooker, drain the water completely from kollu. Save this water for making a traditional soup (called as kattu thanni in Tamil) which I will be posting soon.

5) In a mixie jar or in a blender, first add dry red chillies and black pepper. Make a powder of it.

6) Then, add kollu and continue grinding till the kollu reaches coarse consistency. If required, add only few tablespoons of water to help grinding. Add salt towards the end of the grinding.

7) Serve as condiment for rice along with kattu thanni (coming soon).

Notes:

1) Kattu thanni – a soup prepared out of the drained water is the perfect accompaniment for this thokku. You can save the water to prepare this dish or add a pinch of salt, cumin seeds and drink it or just discard it

2) This thokku stays good only for a day. So keep refrigerated to increase its shelf life.