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ULAVA CHARU

A rich tangy and earthy stew made of horse gram, flavored with peppercorns, garlic and chilies.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Soaking time8 hours
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian, Telugu
Keyword: plant based, Stew, vegan
Servings: 4 Servings
Author: Shravani Abhishek

Equipment

  • Pressure cooker
  • Skillet

Ingredients

For Charu

  • 1 cup Horse gram Washed and soaked overnight
  • 1 Tomato
  • 4 tbsp Tamarind pulp lemon size tamarind, soak in warm water and extract the pulp
  • 2 tbsp Ground ginger sonthi podi/saunth
  • Salt to taste

For ground masala

  • 5 cloves Garlic
  • 1 tsp Coriander seeds
  • 10 no Peppercorns
  • ½ tsp Cumin seeds
  • 1 pinch Carom seeds

Tempering

  • 2 tbsp Cooking oil
  • 3 cloves Garlic
  • 3 no Whole dry red chillies
  • ½ tsp Mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp Cumin seeds
  • 1 sprig Curry leaves

Instructions

Prepping horse gram

  • Wash and soak the horse gram overnight, or soak upto 6 hours in hot water.

Method 1 - Cooking horse gram in pressure cooker

  • Later add in the soaked horse gram along with the water(in which horse gram was soaked), add 2 more cups of water, into the pressure cooker.
    Pressure cook for 3 whistles and let the pressure release naturally.

Method 2 - Cooking horse gram in Instant pot

  • Later add in the soaked horse gram along with the water(in which horse gram was soaked), add 2 more cups of water, into the inner pot of Instant pot.
    Press the pressure cook mode, select manual mode, and cook for 15 mins on high pressure.

Method 3 - Cooking horse gram on stove top

  • Later add in the soaked horse gram along with the water(in which horse gram was soaked), add 2 more cups of water, into a large pot.
    Cook until the horse gram is well cooked. When you press the dal it should turn mushy.

Let's pound the garlic and spices for Ulava charu

  • In a mortar and pestle, add garlic cloves, peppercorns, carom seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and pound everything into a thick coarse paste.

Now time to make the brawny Ulava charu!!

  • Heat a soup pot/boiling pot, add strained water in which horse gram is boiled. And bring it to a rolling boil.
  • Now add in garlic and spice paste we pounded earlier, salt and give it a good mix.
  • Add in chopped tomatoes, extracted tamarind pulp, ground ginger/ginger powder and let it boil.
  • Now slightly mash the boiled horse gram in a mortar pestle or you can blend them to a coarse paste. And add this paste to the boiling charu.
  • Taste the charu and adjust the seasoning.

It's time to add sizzling tadka to the boiling Ulava charu.

  • Heat a small tempering pan/tadka pan, add oil and let it heat.
  • Add in mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and let them crackle for a moment.
  • Now add in pounded garlic cloves, curry leaves, torn red chilies and fry until garlic turns golden brown.
  • Turn off the heat, and add this sizzling hot tadka to the boiling charu.

Serving time!!

  • Serve hot Ulavacharu with cooked rice, and some veggie stir fry to go along with it.