Paruppu Usili is a traditional South Indian curry, particularly famous in Tamilnadu. This is a simple authentic South Indian side dish that can be served with Rice, any curry and papad. Paruppu stands for lentil (dal) and usili stands for crumbled. Paruppu Usili is a healthy dish prepared using lentils and vegetables. Beans and Kothavarangai are the most common veggies used for making Usili.
The best part about the dish is that even picky eaters start enjoying vegetables. Different vegetables can be incorporated in the recipe like french bean (Beans paruppu usili), cluster beans, cabbage (cabbage paruppu usili), broccoli (broccoli paruppu usili), radish (mullangi paruppu usili), asparagus (asparagus paruppu usili), carrot (carrot paruppu usili), beetroot (beetroot paruppu usili), banana flower (vazhapoo paruppu usili),vedndakkai/okra etc.
I wanted to try asparagus for almost 4 years but I don’t know how to make SouthIndian version out of this. Now I got this recipe I tried this. It is very very good.
Asparagus Paruppu Usili
Ingredients for Usili
1. Bengal gram (kadala paruppu) - 1/2 cup
2. Dry red chili - 2 nos
3. Asafoetida - 3 pinch
4. Cumin seeds - 2 pinch
5. Salt (for dal) - as needed
Ingredients – 2
1. Onion (chopped) - 1 no
2. slitted green chillies - 3
2. Garlic (fine chopped) - 2 cloves
3. Asparagus - 10 stks (or now small bunch)
4. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
5. Salt (or to taste)
6. Oil - 3 tsp
7. Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
8. urad dal - 1/4 tsp
9. Curry leaves
10. Coriander leaves
Preparation
1. Wash the fresh asparagus stalks, chop the thick lower thick stalks and trash it and finely chop the rest like (beans) and keep aside.
2. Soak bengal gram for atleast an hour in water. When done rinse, drain and grind it with cumin seeds, asafoetida, dry red chili and salt to a coarse texture.
3. Cook this grinded mixture over an idli plate and steam cook until done. When done, let cool and gently crumble them with your hands to make the usili and keep aside.
4. Now heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard, urad dal and curry leaves. Fry the onions,green chillies and garlic till translucent. Add the chopped asparagus, cover and cook over medium flame for 4 minutes. This should cook enough to make it soft, add turmeric, crumbled dal usili and salt. Fry till the entire mixture blends and turns to crumbly dry texture.
5. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
Tips
Normally paruppu usili never includes onion, its just sauteed with dal and veggie. But all my preparations do include them to give a nice texture and taste. You may avoid if you follow the traditional method.
Combination of lentils can be used (Bengal gram + Toor Gram)
Just to Share with you…..
In US almost all grocery shops have this Brussel Spouts. When I saw this I was surprised to see this mini cabbage. I slitted this veggie and used this in curry just like we do for enna kathirikkai kulambu. It was ok. Since I didn’t like this much I stopped buying this. Almost after two years I bough this again and tried this Poriyal. It is very good. It can be eaten as side dish or can be mix with rice too.
Brussels sprouts Poriyal
Ingredients
1. Brussels sprouts - 6
2. chopped onion – 1/4 cup
3. slitted green chillies – 5
4. Peanut – 2 tsp
5. roasted canna dal – 1 tsp
6. Mustard – 1/4 tsp
7. curry leaves, coriander leaves as needed
8. oil – 2 tsp
9. turmeric powder – pinch
10. salt as needed.
Preparation
1. Heat oil in pan and add mustard. When it cracks add curry leaves.
2. Add onion , green chillies and fry well.
3. Add chopped brussel sprouts, pinch of turmeric powder and salt. Mix every thing well.
4. If needed sprinkle little water and let it cook.
5. Dry grind peanuts and roasted channa dal to get dry powder .
6. Add this powder to the veggie once it is completely done and dry.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves (optional).
Just to Share with you……..
I love Senai kilangu and Karunai kilangu because of the rich and different kind of taste it got. There are so many recipes you can make out of senai kilangu but this poriyal is the most easiest way. In US this suran/senai kilangu/Elephant yam I couldn’t see any where so I didn’t have a chance to eat this for a very long time. While searching for drumsticks in the frozen section in Indian grocery I found Senai kilangu and I was so happy. Though I love to eat this a lot I hate cutting this veggies beause after cutting this if you wet your hands , it will start itching. When I was kid we make fun of our friends by asking them to hold this veggie for a little while and then allow them to wash their hands. Though I know it is bad but as kid I love to do it.
Senai Kizhangu Poriyal
Ingredients:
1. Senai Kizhangu / Suran – 1 packet
2. Onion – 1 ( chopped )
3. Green chilli – 6
4. Curry leaves – few
5. Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
6. Urad dhal – 1 tsp
7. Channa dhal – 1 tsp
8. Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
9. Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
10. Oil 1 tbsp
11. Salt to taste.
Preparation:
1. Cook the vegetable in water with turmeric powder and salt. Cover the vegetable. Cook till the vegetable is soft. Drain the excess water.
2. Heat the oil add mustard seed,urad dhal,channa dhal after few seconds, add onion , chillies and curry leaves. Fry until golden brown.
3. Now add cooked senai kizhangu ( suran ) then stir for few minutes in low heat.
4. Now add grated coconut and remove from flame.Garnish with corriander leaves.
Tips
Always go wtih method 1 because draining the water in which the vegetables are cooked means you are loosing some of the nutrients in it.
This is the simplest and easiest Poriyal we can make. If you need Poriyal in bulk quantity then muttaicose poriyal is the best option. You can cut big whole cabbage in 2-3 mins. In my grandpa’s house we used to have lots of get togethers during festivals and special occasions. So we had one standard cook for all those functions. More than cook he and his wife is almost like a relative to us. As for as I know we know them for 30 years. Now he is no more. Still I can remember him.His name is Dhandapani. When I was in my 5th grade we had one such occasion. I couldn’t recollect what it is. But for that my mom and her group started cutting vegetables, some peeled onions etc. I too wanted to cut something that time but nobody allowed me. That time since I cried Dhandapani anna gave me one cabbage and asked me to cut. I started to take out the layers and started cutting. He saw that then he showed to how to cut cabbage easily. If you follow that method only one minute might be needed and your cutted/chopped cabbage almost will look like grated cabbage. I will try to attach the video or atleast the photos.
He also told me that if we want a colorful look then we can add little carrots too. I will attach photos how to cut the carrots too (It should be like semicircle).
Cabbage Poriyal
Ingredients
1. Cabbage - 1/2 medium sized cabbage
2. Onion - 1/2 chopped finely
3. Green chillies – 4
4. Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
5. Turmeric powder – a pinch (optional)
6. Salt as needed.
To temper
1. Oil - 1 tsp
2. Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
3. Urad dhal – 1/2 tsp
4. Channa dal – 1/2 tsp
5. Curry leaves – few
Preparation
1. Heat oil in pan. Add mustard seeds, channa dal, urad dhal, curry leaves and allow it to crackle.
2. Add onion and green chillies and aslo add a pinch of turmeric powder.
3. Then add cabbage and saute for 2mins. If needed sprinkle little water (do not add more water as cabbage will let our water by itself) and cook keeping lid closed until cabbage gets cooked and becomes soft. Add required salt. Most of the time you don’t need water to cook.
4. After few mins the water would have evaporated completely and the cabbage would have turned soft and dry.
5. Add grated coconut and turn of the stove.
Tips
1. If you don’t have coconut don’t worry you can leave the poriyal as it is.
2. Instead of coconut you can powder roastesd split channa dal (pottu kadalai/odacha kadalai/chutney dal) and you can add to poriyal.
Just to Share with you…………..
This is slight variation of beetroot poriyal . Beetroot has lots of good values. Beetroot is a rich source of potent antioxidants and nutrients, including magnesium, sodium, potassium and vitamin C and betane which is important for cardiovascular health. With this rich value beetroot we add going to add Moongdhal to make this beetroot poriyal / Beetroot sabji or Beetroot curry. This can be eaten with rice or with Rotis as well.
Ingredients
1. Beetroot - 1 large
2. Moong dhal - 1/2 cup (soaked in water for 1/2 hour)
3. Oil - 2 tsp
4. Mustard - 1/4 tsp
5. Jeera - 1/4 tsp
6. Green chillies - 4 chopped
7. Curry Leaves - handful
8. Onion - 1 small size
9. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
10. Jeera/cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Corriander powder - 1/2 tsp
12. Seaseme seed powder - 2 tbsp (optional)
13. corriander leaves for garnishing.
7. Add Seasame seed powder and turn off the stove.