Raw Tomato Paruppu Usili | Thakkali Kai Paruppu Usili

Today I am going to share an interesting recipe which is also my Mother-In laws signature recipe. We all know about Vazhai Poo (plantain flower) paruppu Usili, beans paruppu Usili, kothavarangai(cluster beans) paruppu Usili, cabbage usili and bell pepper usili. But today I am going to share Raw Tomato or Green Tomato Paruppu Usili or as we say in Tamil Thakkali Kai Paruppu Usili. The recipe is very similar to beans paruppu usili that I posted earlier. In my beans usili recipe, I shared how to steam the usili in Microwave and here I am going to share how to prepare the usili in the traditional way with green tomatoes.

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. :-)

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Raw Tomato Paruppu Usili | Thakkali Kai Paruppu Usili

Raw Tomato Paruppu Usili - the traditional and authentic recipe from Tamil Nadu prepared with channa dal and toor dal and with the green tomatoes.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course: rice accompaniment

Cuisine: South Indian

Servings: 4

Calories:

Author: Srividhya G

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

Instructions

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.
• 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. :-)

I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

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