French Beans Paruppu Usli

A foodie and a veggie lover like me may not be the best judge in a cookery contest. I am not the one to comment on what tastes good or is just ok. I just love anything and everything vegetarian (no egg-etarian stuff) put out for me on a plate.

As always, I have a major fan in my amma. She says I make a better paruppu usli than her...lol....what else would you expect! ;-). Though I don't really believe it, I thought I could dare to post a pic on the blog. I am somehow convinced that everyone is a cook and no one can claim to be a better or the worst one. It is all about the level of interest one has towards cooking. :)..I have picked up methods, modes and flavors from every kitchen I was exposed to. I don't follow any particular style or method and cant claim to have invented anything....lol.

I though it would be repetitive to post a recipe. There are a million versions for anyone who googles "paruppu usli". So here is the very pretty pic of the usli I made sometime back. I believe that this is a great snack as well. Take my word, it makes a wonderful filling for a stuffed tomato or a capsicum dish. Baking them with a layer of Mozzarella topped with a hit of Parmesan would be divine.

As an initiation to those who don't know about this dish; beans usli is the easiest to make and tastes the best. Beans add a crunch factor and brings in the green pop into yellow dal based dish. We have other veggies including cluster beans, cabbage which are a traditional tam bram kitchen staples. I have tried an usli with every vegetable possible. Provided the veggie is sturdy and doesn't turn mushy after it is cooked. Broccoli, capsicum, carrots, anything and everything you can imagine makes a great base for usli. It is better to use more than just tur dal. Adding moong, chana etc makes your usli sumptuous.

It also feeds your soul if you are health food freak! I know I am. Make a meal out of the yummy usli with a bowl of sAmbhAr for soup and appalam as a crisp sidey. Finish your meal with a bowl of thayir pacchadi or raitha. Even a simple glass of neer mooru / chaas would be great. A no rice meal is done and you are full!...a great weight loss tip without the tag of "dieting".

By the way, here is the picture of the mixed dal and french beans usli from my kitchen. YUM!