Blogging today about one of the most popular Tamil Brahmin Recipe, Beans Paruppu Usili. A South Indian dry vegetable or sabzi, No Onion No Garlic side dish that tastes best with Kuzhambu and Rice.
Be it Festive Meals, family functions, weddings, beans paruppu usili commonly features in the Tamil Brahmin lunch menu.
Beans refer to French Beans here and Paruppu Usili refers to a crumble with lentils. The lentils or dal are soaked, ground coarsely, steamed and then again ground to a soft crumble. This mixture is then stir fried along with the cooked vegetable.
If you like french beans, don't forget to check out these recipes - French beans Foogath (Goan style french beans sabzi) and Beans Carrot Thoran (Kerala style stir fry veg).
If you ask me personally, this is a great way to include dal in your diet, especially for kids.
I make paruppu usili often during summers when we don't feel like consuming the hot dal as an accompaniment.
Since the process of soaking, grinding can be somewhat time consuming, I often make extra quantity and stock in the freezer. This can be used in the next 2-3 days to add to a variety of vegetables as per our choice.
Out of all the usili varieties, beans and Vazhaipoo paruppu usili top the charts. Both these side dishes taste excellent with Poosanikai Mor Kuzhumbu or Vethal Kuzhambu which is the preferred curry along with steamed rice.
I learnt this particular recipe post my marriage and this is my MIL's signature recipe. Husband is a huge usili fan and this features mostly on our Sunday lunch menu at home.
Top tips for a delicious usili
- My MIL added both Toor Dal or Arhar Dal or Thuvaram Paruppu and Kadala Paruppu or Chana Dal (Bengal Gram dal) in equal quantities.
- While grinding the steamed lentils, always pulse the mixer instead of grinding at one stretch. Pulsing helps in attaining the udir texture (coarse dry texture).
- Also, paruppu usili needs sesame oil or gingelly oil. Do not compromise on that by using a neutral oil. The aroma of gingelly oil, really brings out the flavour in the paruppu usili.
- The quantity of the crumble or usili should be equal to the cooked vegetables. One should taste both the lentils and the vegetable with every morsel.
- Use a spicy variety of red chilli while grinding the soaked paruppu. It does add that kick. For kids, skip chillies or use kashmiri red chillies instead. No green chillies to be used for this recipe.
Let us first look at how to make the Usili or the lentil crumble using the dal.
Process of making the Usili or the Lentil Crumble
Wash and soak the dal (Toor and chana) together for atleast 1 or 2 hours. The soaked lentils should easily break once you press with your fingernails.
Drain all the water and then add the lentils to the mixer grinder jar. There should be no water at all and none should be added either.
The lentils should be ground coarsely.
Steam the lentils by greasing the idli moulds with some sesame oil.
Steam the dal for atleast 10 to 15 minutes.
Once cool, pulse the steamed lentils one idli cake at a time. Adding too much would lead to sticky crumble.
You can either stock this in a freezer for a couple of days or make the usili immediately.
Once the usili is ready and the beans is pressure cooked, making the sabzi hardly takes any time.
Step by Step Beans Paruppu Usili
Follow the above steps and keep the usili or the lentil (dal) crumble aside. Rest of the steps to make the final dish are shared here.
- Wash and string the french beans, cut them into small pieces.
- Pressure cook the french beans with salt for a couple of whistles.
- Once the usili or the lentil crumble is ready, heat a kadhai, add 3 tbsp of sesame oil. Add Urad Dal, mustard seeds, few red chillies, curry leaves and some turmeric powder.
- Allow the mustard to crackle and then add the cooked beans followed by the lentil crumble. Mix well, check salt and add accordingly.
Beans Paruppu Usili
Ingredients
- 500 gms French Beans (washed, stringed and finely chopped)
- 1/3 cup Chana Dal (Kadala Paruppu or Bengal Gram Dal) 1/3 cup is 80 ml measurement
- 1/3 cup Toor Dal (Thuvaram Paruppu or Arhar Dal)
- 3-4 nos. Whole Red Chillies I have used spicy Pondy chillies
- 3 tbsp Sesame Oil + Extra for greasing the steamer moulds etc
- 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1/2 tsp Urad Dal
- 2-3 nos. Whole Red chillies
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
- A pinch of hing or asafoetida
- Curry leaves a few
- salt to taste
- Water as required to soak the lentils, steam and cook the french beans in pressure cooker
Instructions
- Soak the dal together for atleast 1 or 2 hours. The soaked lentils should easily break once you press with your fingernails.
- Drain all the water and then add the lentils to the mixer grinder jar. There should be no water at all and none should be added either.
- The lentils should be ground coarsely. Steam the lentils by greasing the idli moulds with some sesame oil.
- Steam the dal for atleast 10 to 15 minutes. Once cool, pulse the steamed lentils one idli cake at a time. Adding too much would lead to sticky crumble.
- You can either stock this in a freezer for a couple of days or make the usili immediately.
- Wash and string the french beans, cut them into small pieces.
- Pressure cook the french beans with salt for a couple of whistles.
- Once the usili or the lentil crumble is ready, heat a kadhai, add 3 tbsp of sesame oil. Add Urad Dal, mustard seeds, few red chillies, curry leaves and some turmeric powder.
- Allow the mustard to crackle and then add the cooked beans followed by the lentil crumble. Mix well, check salt and add accordingly.
- Switch off the flame and serve with Mor Kuzhambu and Steamed rice.
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Vidya Narayan