Green Beans Paruppu Usili

Paruppu Usili is a quintessential Tamil Brahmin dish, made of steamed lentils mixed with a vegetable. It is a very nutritious dish, especially for vegetarians as it got lentils to fulfill the daily protein needs. Green beans or cluster beans are the most commonly used vegetables to make paruppu usili, but other vegetables like cabbage and banana flower (vazhai poo) can also be used. Paruppu usili can be served with mor kootan / mor kuzhambu, sambar and rasam.

The lentil crumble can be made either with toor dal or chana dal, or a combination of both lentils. The lightly spiced lentil crumble is a delight to have by itself. In some households, the lentil are fried in oil until golden. This of course needs more oil, so I prefer this healthier version of steaming lentils. Mor kuzhambu and paruppu usili make a classic combination, but it also goes well with other South Indian gravies too.

Green Beans Paruppu Usili

Green beans with a steamed lentil crumble

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Servings 2 – 3

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 200 grams green beans chopped (around 2 cups)
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste

For the dal / lentil mixture

• ¼ cup toor dal / pigeon peas
• ¼ cup chana dal / kadalai paruppu
• 2 dry red chillies
• ¼ tsp asafoetida / hing
• Salt to taste

To temper

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp split urad dal
• 2 dry red chillies
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• A pinch of asafoetida / hing

Instructions

• Wash the dals together and soak them along with the red chillies for 30 minutes. Drain well and let them rest in a colander for 15-20 minutes.
• Grind the dals, red chillies, asafoetida, salt to a coarse mixture. Do not add any water to grind.
• Boil water in a idli pot or steamer. Spread the dal mixture on greased idli plate or steamer plate and steam for 5-6 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Once cool, remove from plates and crumble them with hands. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add urad dal, red chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida.
• Once the dal turns golden, add the beans, turmeric powder, salt and combine well. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes or until beans is cooked.
• Now add the crumbled dal mixture and combine well with the beans. Fry for 3-4 minutes and remove from heat.

Notes

• The moisture from the dals in enough to grind it, so do not add any water.
• You can also grind the steamed dal mixture in a mixer instead of crumbling with hands, if you want smaller and finer lentil crumbles.

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian