Paruppu Usili (Steamed Lentils Fry)

Paruppu Usili is a protein rich Tamil Brahmin's Signature side dish and is made usually with lentils and veggies like cluster beans, beans & plantain flower. Apart from being served as side dish it tastes yummy and distinctive when you have this by mixing in hot steaming rice with few drops of ghee. The unique taste of paruppu usili is unbeatable. Some times when there is no vegetable at home, we make plain paruupu usili and have it as side dish with more kuzhambu. Traditionally it is made without steaming but frying it more with sesame oil. Nowadays we steam it and then fry with less oil, yet we get the same taste...

Pre time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serves 4 people

Ingredients for making Paruppu Usili:

Thur dal 5 tb spoons
Bengal gram (Chana dal) 2 tb spoons
Red chillies 4 or 5
Chopped beans or cluster beans from 250 gms
Oil 3 tb spoons
Mustard seeds
Urad dal 1 tea spoon
Curry leaves
Hing powder 1/4 tea spoon

(Note: Adding some Chana dal gives some crispiness to the dal mix when fried. Thurdal gives softness. When both combined gives a very good combination)

How to make Paruppu usili?

Wash and Soak the dals and red chillies together for 2 hours.

After 2 hours drain the water completely out and grind them to coarse batter with required salt and keep aside.

Boil or pressure cook the chopped vegetable with required salt sprinkling some water adding turmeric powder and keep aside. Boil the vegetable with necessary water so that you need not drain out the water after vegetable is cooked well.

Grease a plate or idli plate with oil and spread the dal batter on it.

Steam it in a cooker without adding weight or in a rice cooker for 15 minutes. Or even you can microwave it for 3 to 5 minutes.

After it becomes cool, just crush it with your hand to pieces as shown in the picture.

You can also put it in a mixie jar and run for a second to get even dal crumbles instead of crumbling it with hand.