I love all vegetables, but broccoli is really special to me.
Now I know there are people out there who run away from this healthful veggie, but think about it for a moment: prepared well, broccoli can be absolutely delicious.
One very simple broccoli recipe I sometimes make for quick weeknight dinners is to toss around some chopped garlic in olive oil, and then add broccoli florets to it.
A few stirs to tenderize the broccoli to the point where it still has a slight crunch, some salt, and you’ve got a delicious plate of goodness that’s heaven for the tastebuds and the soul, not to mention your health.
Now for the broccoli paruppu usili. It is easy, quick, and tremendously nutritious, and can be made with numerous veggies, although the most traditional version appears to be made with broad beans or green beans.
Marrying this bland vegetable with the delicious lentil-masala mix that is the basis of paruppu usili is a match made in heaven. So out I set to do just that, and the results were so good, I couldn’t wait to share them with you.
So here’s my Broccoli Paruppu Usili- delicious, healthy and deeply satisfying. I don’t steam the lentil paste first- I find that stirring it for a few minutes in the 1 tablespoon of oil one would anyway use for this dish is more than enough to cook the ground lentils.
I added some garlic to the lentil paste, because I love garlic and can eat it in almost anything, and also because I find it always really enhances broccoli which tends to be a blank slate, tastewise.
Related recipes
Broccoli Paruppu Usili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon toor dal
- 2 tablespoon chana dal
- 2 dry red chilies
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 pinch asafetida (hing)
- 1 head broccoli (cut into florets)
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon urad dal
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Soak the tuvar dal and the chana dal in water for about two hours. Drain, and using as little water as possible, grind to a paste along with the chiles, garlic and hing and salt to taste.
- Steam or microwave 1 head of broccoli, separated into small florets, until it is quite tender but not falling apart or mushy.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and when they sputter, add 1 tablespoon udad dal.
- Add the lentil paste to it and stir fry around 10 minutes until the lentils darken in hue and no longer taste raw.
- Add the broccoli and mix it in with a few stirs.
- Check the salt and remove from the heat. Serve hot.
Parvathy (Raji)
came to your blog searching for some vegan recipes..broccoli paruppu usili recipe is very interesting..i will try this out sometime soon..thanks for sharing.