Paruppu Usili and Vathakuzhambu is one of the classic combinations and my favorite combo too. :-) But what exactly is this paruppu usili? Paruppu means dal or lentils. This family recipe of ours, calls for equal amount of toor dal and channa dal. Both dals along with red chillies are soaked and they are grinded along with hing, salt and turmeric. These ground mixture is then steamed and then it is broken down again and this broken down steamed lentil mixture is added along with the veggie. This is a multi-step elaborate recipe which does take time but I can guarantee that it’s worth the time and you will surely love this lentil based dry curry. This authentic and classic recipe goes well with Mor Kuzhambu and Avial too. As mentioned above, I have used green tomatoes for this recipe. We need nice and hard raw tomatoes for this recipe and the soft, mushy ones or the semi-ripe tomatoes are a big no no in this recipe. One of the great advantage of having a back-yard garden, is you can pluck veggies as per the recipe and at any stage. I used the raw cherry tomatoes from the garden for this recipe. Ingredients:
For the Curry: Chopped green tomatoes – 2.5 cups Oil – 2 tbsps (The lentils and green tomatoes absorbs the oil. We need min 2 tbsps of oil for this recipe) Mustard Seeds – 2 tsps Urad Dal – 2 tsps Hing – ½ tsp Salt – ½ tsp For the Paruppu Usili: Toor Dal – ¼ cup Channa Dal – ¼ cup Red Chillies (I used the Byadage chillies) – 5 Hing – ½ tsp Salt – ¾ tsp Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp Water for soaking + grinding
Prep – work:
Soak the lentils (both toor dal and channa dal) and red chillies in water for about 1 hour. Chop the green tomatoes and set aside.
Preparing the Usili:
Grind the soaked lentils and red chillies along with ¾ tsp of salt, turmeric powder and hing coarsely by adding 3 to 4 tbsps of water. (Do not add too much water, just drizzle as required) Meanwhile, grease the idli plates with oil and add 1 cup of water to the idli cooker. Take a handful of the ground lentil mixture and place it in the idli plate. I got four handful balls. Now place the idli plates inside the cooker and cover it with lid. Steam it for 10 minutes. Once the pressure is off, remove the cooked lentil cakes. Crumble them nicely like below and set aside. That’s it. The usili is ready.
Preparing Raw Tomato Usili:
Heat the kadai and add oil. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal and hing. As they start to splutter, add the chopped green tomatoes and mix well. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Do no add any water and also do not cover and cook for more than 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the lid and add salt. Let it cook until ¾ of the water gets evaporated. The color will change slightly. Now add the crumbled usili mix and incorporate it nicely with the veggie. Roast it under low flame until all the water is absorbed and until light crust is formed. That’s it Raw tomato paruppu usili is ready.
Notes:
If you notice, I didn’t add any cilantro or curry leaves. Curry leaves can be added during tadka, but adding cilantro completely changes the taste. So if you prefer, add curry leaves alone. Taste the tomato and depending upon on the sourness adjust the spice and salt. Mine was slightly sour, so I used about 5 big byadage variety chillies. (They are not that spicy also) You can prepare usili with other veggies like Cluster beans, cabbage, green bell peppers, banana flower, beans etc.
Enjoy it with vathal kuzhambu and sutta appalam. :-)