Gahat or horse gram Lentil Soup (गहतको झोल)

Gahat (horse gram) is one of the varieties of daal (lentil) mainly consumed in terai and hilly regions of Nepal. Gahat is full of protein, iron and calcium, and it also helps in losing weight. Gahat has been found to have many medicinal benefits such as for diarrhea, stomached, hemorrhoids and menstrual disorders. It has also been found useful for kidney stone, weak liver, gall stone, hypertension and excessive perspiration.  Many of us might remember our mom and grandma cooking gahatko jhol (horse gram lentil soup) during winter. When we were kids, my mom used to cook gahat in cast iron pot (karai) on firewood for over two hours. Mom used to force us to slurp the gahatko jhol saying that it will keep us warm during winter.

Here is a simple recipe of Gahatko jhol:

Ingredients

1 cup of Gahat
Ginger
Garlic
Cinnamon
Cardamom
Clove
Fenugreek
Cumin seed
Dry red chilies
Cumin powder
Coriander powder
Red chilies powder
Turmeric powder
Jimbu/Himalayan aromatic herb
Salt
Ghee/butter
Coriander leaves

Method

Soak the lentils overnight and wash it thoroughly to remove any impurities.

Put the lentils in pressure cooker and add two cups of water. Add half a teaspoon of salt, crushed ginger and garlic, a cinnamon stick, few cloves and cardamom, a teaspoon of cumin and coriander powder, half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and red chilies powder.

Cook the ingredients for around 15-20 mins in low heat or around 6 pressure cooker whistle. (If you are cooking in regular pan, you need to simmer the ingredient for around 2 hours. Try pressure cooker, it saves you lot of time and energy).

Let it cool down for some minute. You can remove cinnamon stick, cloves and cinnamon.

Add a cup of water and simmer it for some minutes.

On sauce pan, heat two tablespoon of ghee or butter. Fry fenugreek and cumin seed. Add dry red chilly, finely chopped ginger and garlic, half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and jimbu.

And pour the mixture over the lentil soup and stir.

Your gahat lentil soup is ready to be served. Pour the soup in the bowl and garnish with coriander leaves. This can be served to around two people, and can also be eaten with breads or steamed rice.