The ‘beans paruppu-usili’, is a dish which is made with any one type or kind of beans, like the cluster beans or French beans, stir-fried in coarsely ground and cooked lentil/dal. This dish is also, alternatively, prepared using carrots. A typical South Indian dish served with rice and Morkozhambu (a dish made of butter-milk) or sambar and rice.
The perfect time to indulge in traditional lunches is on a lovely family Sunday. My family enjoyed the ‘Sunday feast’ as they relished the paruppu-usili with sambar, rasam, rice, curd, appalam/pappad and pickle. Oh and I have got to mention the extended siesta that followed.
The beans bathed in crumbled dal/lentil mixture, is a wholesome accompaniment for any meal. This can also be relished with rotis and dal.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cluster beans( alternatively use French beans)
- ½ cup toor/tur dal (split pigeon peas/lentil)
- 4 red chillies
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- a pinch of asafoetida
- oil for frying
- salt to taste
Method
- Soak tur dal (split pigeon lentil) in water for ½ hour.
- Grind the tur dal (split pigeon lentil) to a coarse paste with red chillies, asafoetida and salt to taste, without adding any water.
- Chop cluster beans/French beans. Mix the chopped beans with tur dal paste and pressure cook for few minutes, till dal and beans are cooked just right.
- Heat oil in a frying pan and add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add cooked cluster beans along with the tur dal paste and fry well. Keep on a low flame and fry till the mixture becomes dry and crumbles.
- Serve hot as a side dish with rice or rotis.
Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Standing Time for dal/lentil: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
Note:
- Some recipes for the ‘beans paruppu-usili’ include split Bengal gram also. If required, the same can be added to the dish along with the split pigeon lentil and follow the same procedure.
- To get a nice crispy taste of the crumbled lentil, one can add more oil and continue to fry till the mixture gets crispy.