From the YummyYucky team, founded by Nancy Nash

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Can Babies Eat Horse Gram? How to Cook and Serve

Horse gram, known as kulthi or kollu, is a very hard, iron rich pulse usually eaten as a soup or rasam. Its one demand is long cooking: soak it well and boil until truly soft, then mash or crush it until about age 4, and it becomes a warming, protein rich food.

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When to introduce: 6 months+
Common allergen?: Not a common allergen
Texture: Cooked until very soft, mashed or as a thin soup
Key nutrients: Plant protein, iron, calcium, B vitamins

Horse gram is a small, flat, tough bean grown mostly in southern India, often simmered into a thin soup, rasam, or ground into a spiced dish. It is one of the higher protein and higher iron pulses, which is exactly what a weaning baby can use. The thing to know is that it is genuinely hard and slow to soften, so it needs a good soak and a long cook before it is right for a baby.

Prep School: how to prepare horse gram for baby-led weaning (BLW) and purées

🍴 Baby-led weaning

6 monthsSoak for several hours, then pressure cook or simmer until a bean crushes easily. Mash the beans and spread the paste on a soft strip of toast, or offer the strained kollu rasam broth in an open cup for your baby to sip.

9 monthsServe soft whole cooked beans lightly crushed so they cannot roll whole into the throat, which is good pincer practice, or fold the mash into rice your baby can pick up.

12 months+Offer a soft horse gram soup or a mild spiced mash with rice, kept low salt, with any firm bits broken down.

🥄 Purées

6 monthsSoak several hours, then pressure cook or simmer until the beans are very soft. Mash into a smooth paste, or spoon the strained kollu rasam style soup. Undercooked horse gram stays firm, so keep going until a bean crushes easily.

9 monthsFold the mashed beans into rice or vegetables your baby can scoop, keeping it lumpier as texture builds.

12 months+Spoon a soft horse gram soup or a mild spiced mash over rice, kept low salt with any firm bits broken down.

Is horse gram safe? Choking & prep

Horse gram is safe for babies once it is cooked all the way to soft, and it is not a common allergen, though you should still offer a small amount the first time and watch, as any legume can occasionally cause a reaction.² Because the beans are so firm, undercooked horse gram is both a choking risk and hard to digest, so soak it and simmer until a bean crushes easily before mashing it for your baby.¹ Serve it without added salt and mild on spice.²

Trying horse gram today? Log the first taste and whether it was a hit, a hard maybe, or launched across the room, dated and ready for the pediatrician.

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Nutrition

Horse gram is high in protein, with red seeded types reaching around a quarter protein by weight, and it is an especially good source of iron along with calcium, phosphorus, and B vitamins.³ The iron is plant iron, so pairing horse gram with a vitamin C food helps your baby absorb more of it. As with all pulses, start small to let your baby's digestion adjust to the fiber.

Goes well with

Rice · Tomato · Carrot · Cumin (a pinch) · Ghee (a little)

Storage & freezing

Dried horse gram keeps for many months in a sealed jar in a cool, dark cupboard. Once cooked, it keeps 1 to 2 days in the fridge, or 1 to 2 months in the freezer.⁴ Store it in the fridge, or freeze the soup or mash in small portions and reheat until steaming, then cool to warm.

More proteins to explore

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Hot dogs12 months at the earliest, and an occasional food

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HummusAround 6 months

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Hyacinth bean6 months+

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Imitation crabFrom about 12 months, as a small taste on an occasion; added sugar is best kept rare before age 2

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Jackfruit seedsAround 9 months

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Kala chana6 months+

Common questions

Why does horse gram take so long to cook?

The seeds are dense and hard, more so than most pulses. A long soak and a pressure cooker are the easiest ways to get them soft enough for a baby.

Can I give my baby just the horse gram soup?

Yes. The strained soup, like a mild kollu rasam, is a gentle way to introduce the flavor and some iron, offered warm from a spoon or open cup and kept unsalted.

Is horse gram too heavy for babies?

It is high in fiber and protein, so start with a small amount and increase slowly. Cooking it thoroughly and mashing it well makes it much easier to digest.

Sources

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Last updated September 2026. Next review December 2026. How we write these: built from current published guidance from the AAP, CDC, FDA/EPA, NIAID, WHO, and other pediatric and public-health authorities, with sources cited on the page. See our editorial and medical policy for how we research, source, and update these, and how we double-check the food advice.

This is general information, not medical advice, and is not individualized for your baby. Always talk to your pediatrician about your baby's diet, introducing allergens, and any reaction. In an emergency, contact emergency services.

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