Paruppu Usili is the crumbled soft dal which is combined with vegetables to make very delicious Poriyal variety or dry curry. The most common vegetables used for Usili are Banana Flower, Beans and Cluster Beans. But we can also try Broccoli, spinach, Radish greens and many more vegetables. Beans Paruppu Usili is one of the traditional recipe in Tamil Brahmin Kitchen. For any auspicious occasions like marriages, we or the caterers always include beans or cluster beans paruppu usili as part of their menu.

Table of Contents

There are 2 ways to make this Usili:

Dals are soaked overnight or atleast for 2 hours and ground to paste with red chili and the paste is then crumbled with little oil and added to the steam cooked asparagus. I have given here this way of making Usili
Soaked dal is ground to fine paste and make small dumplings out of the paste. Steam cook the dumplings and then crumble it with your hand. We can then mix that crumbled dal mixture to the cooked vegetable.

Benefits of Asparagus:

Asparagus is one of the most nutritionally well-balanced vegetables in existence. It is a nutrient-dense food which in high in Folic Acid and is a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin. Asparagus has No Fat, contains No Cholesterol and is low in Sodium.Thin asparagus does not require peeling. Asparagus with thick stems should be peeled because the stems are usually tough and stringy. Remove the tough outer skin of the bottom portion of the stem (not the tips) with a vegetable peeler. Wash asparagus under cold water to remove any sand or soil residues. It is best to cook asparagus whole. Most healthy way to cook asparagus is to cook it as a whole and then chop it into pieces. We can add chopped asparagus to our favourite salad. Also, we can toss cooked pasta with asparagus with our favourtite pasta spices and olives. We can also saute asparagus with garlic, mushrooms and tofu for a complete meal.

You may also want to try:

Recipe Card for Asparagus Paruppu Usili:

Instructions with Step by Step Pictures:

Soak the Dal's in water over night or in hot boiling water for at least 2 hours.
Its better to use tender Asparagus. Tender Asparagus cooks faster and tastes great. If the asparagus is not tender, then peel the skin with a vegetable peeler. Tender ones doesn't need peeling. Cut 1 inch piece of the bottom and discard. Chop the rest of the stem into fine pieces

Take the finely chopped asparagus in a pan and add water to soak them. Also add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt and keep it on flame and allow it to cook till they are tender and soft. Usually cooking asparagus takes only 5-6 minutes. Once cooked, if you have excess water drain it and we can add that water to our kuzhambu or rasam which we prepare that day. Or, we can also add a pinch of salt and pepper powder to the cooked and drained and asparagus water and drink it like a soup. Do not discard the water as it is very nutrition rich. Now our cooked asparagus is ready. Lets prepare the usili now..

Rinse the Dal's and strain the water and grind it in mixer once along with red chilli, hing and salt without adding water

The ground mixture should be coarse. Heat the oil in the pan, and add the ground paste and keep the flame in low

Allow the ground paste to cook in oil and it will crumble down into smaller pieces. Finally add the cooked Asparagus and mix well with the crumbled dals.