Paruppu Usili – just ONE recipe for any vegetable!

Paruppu Usili literally means ‘Lentil Crumble’. It is a nutritious, protein rich side dish made with soaked and crumbled lentils, chillies and spices, mixed with a steamed vegetable. It is best served with a tangy gravy with vatha kuzhambu or morkuzhambu.

Paruppu Usili is a commonly prepared dish within a community in Tamilnadu however like most dishes, every family has their own way of making it. It is served in tamil weddings, specifically within the brahmin community. As a predominantly vegetarian community, their consumption of proteins are limited to lentils and legumes. A Paruppu usili is a smart hack to include some proteins to a meal and like a lot of meal combinations, the flavours are balanced with what is served with. So, it is usually served with a dish that has no lentils – like a tamarind kuzhambu!

Just like the Mor Kuzhambu, I make this too every week. We love having both together and so naturally, I have created a few hacks around it!

This dish takes a while to put together, but it is not a difficult process. The various steps involved are

• Soaking lentils
• Grinding lentils with spices
• Steaming the ground mixture
• Sauteeing the ground lentil mixture and mixing with steamed/sauteed vegetable of choice

In some methods, the steaming is eliminated and the mixture is directly sauteed. It certainly works too and I explain the difference in the recipe below.

Ingredients in Paruppu Usili

In my version, the ingredients used are really simple.

Lentil – I use toor dal mostly when making this dish. However, I do add a combination of toor and channa dal sometimes keeping the ratio of channa dal quite low. It is really a personal preference and I encourage you to try both and see what you like.

Chillies – I prefer using red chillies for this dish because the specks of red in yellow lentil look lovely, however the recipe itself works well for red and green chillies, or even a combination of both.

Hing – Asafoetida is added to balance the dals used in this dish and also imparts an excellent flavour.

Vegetables used in Paruppu Usili

Every family will have a favourite vegetable to use in a Paruppu Usili. The most commonly used ones are varieties of beans – french beans, broad beans, cluster beans are all popular. Here is a list of vegetables that you can add to your paruppu usilli, including the preferred cooking method for each of them.

Steamed Vegetables

To use these vegetables, chop them fine and steam in a closed vessel, flash cook using a pressure cooker or use a microwave. The aim is to retain colour and shape but also cook the vegetable fully because when mixing with usilli, it is not cooked.

• French Beans (Beans)
• Cluster Beans ( Kothavarangai)
• Broad Beans ( Avarakkai)
• Cabbage
• Banana Flower
• Green Moong Sprouts

With more tamil folks moving away from India and having access to different vegetables locally, several other variations also work well

• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower

Sauteed Vegetables

To use these vegetables, add a tsp of oil and saute the finely chopped vegetable/greens and add a pinch of salt. For greens, rinse, chop finely and use. The aim is to retain crunch and shape but also cook the vegetable fully.

• Capsicum/Bell Peppers ( all colours work, though green ones have a better flavour)
• Raddish Greens
• Fenugreek greens
• Bittergourd

Stuffed Vegetables

In this variation, a vegetable is slit open and a paruppu usili mixture is stuffed and cooked. This is by far my favourite variation and I make it with small brinjals and tindora. Check out this fantastic recipe for Stuffed Brinjals with Parupu Usilli

Freezing Parupu Usili

Freezing is a game changer in this recipe. It takes considerable time to make so it makes sense to make double batches and freeze! To freeze this dish, cook it completely.

• Soak, grind, steam and saute and let it cool completely. It can be frozen just after steaming and cooling or after sauteeing. I prefer to do it after sauteeing ( and adding salt) so I can directly use it. There is no difference in taste eitherwise.
• Portion it into small sized ziplock bags and freeze.
• Remember to use up the contents of the bag fully once you take it out.
• To make the dish, pull it out of the freezer and let it thaw for 10 minutes ( or microwave for a minute), add to steamed vegetable and serve.
• Frozen usili, if stored in right conditions lasts upto three months in a regular freezer.

Step by Step Pictures to make Paruppu Usili

• Rinse and soak 1 cup toor dal in plenty of water for an hour
• Drain fully and let all water drip by leaving it in a colander for 10 minutes. This is important to ensure that there is no added moisture in the next step.
• Add to a blender ( preferably a small mixie jar), add the chillies, hing and one tsp of oil and pulse to make a crumble. Do this step in small batches to ensure you do not make a paste. And, no do not add any water. The residual moisture from the soaked lentils are enough.
• Add turmeric, salt and mix well.

• To steam, add water to a pot and place steamer plates ( or idli plates as I use), add lumps of the crumble mixture and steam for 5-6 minutes.
• Once the cooked usuli is ready, let it cool a bit.
• At this stage, you can also pulse it again with a little oil to ensure it is a smooth mixture.

• Once the cooked usuli is ready, let it cool a bit. At this stage, you can also pulse it again to ensure it is a smooth mixture.
• To a pan, add ½ tsp oil and temper with mustard and curry leaves. Add the steamed lentils and stir for a minute.
• Add cooked beans, adjust salt, mix and serve.

Making Small Batch Paruppu Usili

• If you are a small family like me ( I hear you), one cup might be too much to eat! In such cases, here’s a good hack for you!
• Soak, drain and grind the lentils as mentioned above. Make tiny patties as shown below with it. I usually use about 1/2 cup of lentils and adjust the quantity of chilies accordingly. But, this method can be used for any amount of lentils if you have a big enough pressure cooker. I use a 2L cooker for 1/2 cup of lentils about 1 to 1.5 cups of chopped beans.
• To a pressure cooker, add 2 tsp oil, 1 tbsp water, 2 cups of chopped beans and place the patties on top of the beans
• Cook for 2 whistles in medium flame ( or 1000W in Induction)
• Remove and cool the patties. Add it back to the mixer, pulse adding 1 tsp oil and make a tempering and mix with cooked beans.
• This eliminates using a steamer, and cooks the vegetable and usili together. In this way, it will take you less than 15 minutes to make the dish

This is one of MOST favourite things to make and eat. I did not learn this recipe at home despite eating it very often. After I moved out and really craved it, I read it on several blogs and realized one thing – it was literally the same recipe shared in multiple ways! You do not need a seperate recipe for beans paruppu usilli and cluster beans paruppu usilli. The process is the same. Trust me, this may look LONG but once you do it – it’s so simple!

Please leave a comment below if you made this recipe, have any questions or thoughts! Your comment will help me learn more about your preferences and will help other readers.

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