Beans Paruppu Usili (Green Beans with Lentil Crumble)

Usili is a clever Tamil dish: soaked lentils are ground with chilli, steamed and crumbled, then fried until golden and mixed with a vegetable – most often green beans or cluster beans. The result is crunchy, savoury and full of protein.

Video by HomeCookingShow on YouTube. Our recipe below is our own home-style version, written in our own words – quantities and steps may differ from the video.

• Serves 4
• Prep 15 min
• Cook 30 min
• Vegan · gluten-free
• Famous in Tamil Nadu

Ingredients

• 300 g green beans, finely chopped
• 75 g toor dal + 25 g chana dal, soaked 1 hour
• 2 dried red chillies
• 1 pinch asafoetida
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 10 curry leaves
• ¼ tsp turmeric

Method

1. Drain the dals and grind coarsely with chillies, asafoetida and ½ tsp salt without water.
2. Steam the mixture in a greased plate for 10–12 minutes, cool and crumble with your fingers.
3. Cook the beans with turmeric, ½ tsp salt and a splash of water until just tender. Drain.
4. Heat the oil, add mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves, then the lentil crumble and fry 6–8 minutes until golden.
5. Add the beans, toss well and serve with rice and morkuzhambu or rasam.

Tip: Grind the dal without water – the crumble must be dry to turn crisp.

Shop the ingredients

Everything you need for this recipe is in stock at Farmah’s – order online or pick it up at Annenstraße 41, Graz.