In vegetarian diet, beans are the major source of proteins & other nutritional needs. One of the is lesser known among beans is called “Gahat” or Horse gram. It is undervalued bean crop commonly used in Southeast Asian countries (India, Nepal) and some parts of Africa. It’s often referred as poor man’s pulse.

Health Benefits

In a study published in J Food Science & Technology, Indian researchers Dwivedi & others write that horse gram is used in traditional treatment of kidney stones, diabetes, obesity, hypertension and others. Its nutritional & medicinal properties as reported in Wikipedia is outlined below.

• Nutritional: Horse gram is known as source of proteins, nutrients like iron, molybdenum, calcium, and vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin and niacin). It is known to contain less fat, plenty of carbohydrates and antioxidants.
• Medicinal: Researches at the Indian Institutes have reported some medical properties in horse gram to induce insulin resistance with its anti-hyperglycemia properties.

To sump up, when prepared appropriately it tastes good and contains beneficial proteins as well as various other essential nutrients. It should be made part of a vegetarian diet.

Cover photo used in this note By Prathyush Thomas – Own work, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40765981