Asparagus Paruppu Usuli (Lentil Mix)

Oct 24th 2010

Usuli is another south indian side-dish that is extremely tasty but often not made by our generation because it falls under that too much prep work category. Easy as it is, I have seen it being delegated to that "must-have-list" when mom or mom-in-law comes visiting.

I like this dish for the simple reason that the paruppu (lentil) mix that you add to your vegetable of choice can be prepped in advance one weekend when you have some time to spare and can be used another weekend when you don't have too much of that elusive time. Additionally it is a lifesaver when you have guests over suddenly. And it is a good way to get your vegetable and protein within one meal.

Difficulty level : Easy - Medium

Time: 30 min ( Prep Time), 20 min ( Cooking Time)

Ingredients

• Thoor dhal ( 1 cup)
• Chana dhal ( 1/3 cup)
• Urad dhal ( 1 tbsp)
• Red and green chillies ( 2 -3 nos each)
• Asafoetida or hing
• salt
• Curry leaves
• Turmeric powder
• oil
• mustard (1 tbsps)
• chana dhal (1 1/2 tbsp)
• urad dhal (1 1/2 tbsp)
• Asparagus (a bunch)

Method de Preparation

1. Soak the first three dhals together in water for about an hour. Drain for a 1/2 hour and then grind coarsely in the blender with the chillies, hing, curry leaves and some salt. This paste should be quite thick like hummus for example. Don't soak or drain for too long as then the dhal will end up becoming too soggy and will not separate out.
2. Add a tbsp of oil to the paste and mix well and cook in a pressure cooker without the weight (meaning used a steamer) for a good 10-15 min until you see a lot of steam come out.  This is a good time to close your eyes and visualize how you would like to let out steam the same way! Turn off heat and allow both yourself and the cooker to cool.
3. Meanwhile wash and chop the asparagus finely. Bend the asparagus and the point where you see it no longer bends and that is the part that needs to be discarded, however I uniformly just discard the last 1 inch or so. Use any other green vegetable here - beans, broccoli, Avarakkai, Kothavarangai etc. I especially like asparagus because I think the taste compares to the mother of paruppu usulis - vazhaipu paruppu usuli (Banana flower).
4. Take oil in a pan, add mustard and when it splutters, add the chana and urad dhal and a few red chillies too if you like. Finally add a couple of curry leaves and add the steamed mix and separate it out into powder like consistency. If you are making more than what you will use at one go, at this point make separate packets and freeze once cooled.
5. Cook the asparagus sprinkled with water and salt/turmeric and a little bit of oil in a pan. When you find the vegetable softened and cooked (~ 4-5 min) add the required amount of usuli to it and your paruppu usuli is ready.
6. Serve this with rice and ghee or with any kind of Morkhuzambu.