Keerai Paruppu Usli

Parupu Usli is a favourite dish in our family. The very fact that I announce I am making there is a lot of excitement around, especially from my daughter who is a fussy eater and very choosy about what she prefers and eats. Parupu usli is on the top list of her favourite list.

Other than spinach we prepare this usli with different veggies like beans,broad beans,cluster beans,cabbage etc etc. I wanted to incorporate spinach in this usli since spinach is full of iron and very healthy. Since we get very fresh spinach leaves the whole year around.

The spinach usli is very delicious and tasty too.

Ingredients:

Spinach leaves - 1 bunch

Toor dal - 1/2 cup (soaked in water)

Chana dal - 1/2 cup (soaked in water)

Red chillies - 10-12

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 1/2 tsp

Urad dal - 1 1/2 tsp

Salt - as required

Oil

Method:

Wash and cut the spinach leaves into small pieces and set aside.

Soak toordal and chana dal in water for 1 hour.

Take a kadai and season with mustard seeds and urad dal and hing with little oil and put the spinach pieces , salt and cook.

The spinach will leave water so cook till it gets dry.

Wet grind the toor dal and chana dal with the dried red chillies by adding very little water into a coarse paste.

Now take a vessel and pour the dal paste in it and steam cook in a pressure cooker for 10-15 minutes , or put the paste in a microwave bowl and cook it for 5 minutes.

When the paste cooks and becomes solid, remove.

Take a kadai and put the solid paste init by breaking it into pieces keep pouring oil on it and stirring the pieces which tend to get separate.

After you have stir fried the dalpaste niocely, add the cooked spinach and mix nicely.

Keep cooking for about 5 minutes and then remove from fire.

The Keerai parupu usli is ready to be eaten with mor kuzhambu as a combination or with rasam rice.