Vazhaipoo Paruppu Usili Recipe – Banana Flower Paruppu Usili

Vazhaipoo Paruppu Usili Recipe is a traditional South Indian Dish which is a combination of steamed crumbled lentils combined with sautéed vazhaipoo or banana flower. Steamed toor dal idlis are sauteed and cooked further in a pan and later combined with tasty vazhaipoo (banana flower).  Course : Side Dish Ingridients : 1 Banana flower (Vazhaipoo) , peeled from its stem 3 cups Water 1/4 cup Curd (Dahi / Yogurt) 1 tablespoon Sesame (Gingelly) Oil 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder (Haldi) Ingredients to be ground 1 cup Arhar dal (Split Toor Dal) , soaked for 3 to 4 hours 2 Dry Red Chillies 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder (Haldi) Salt , to taste 1/4 cup Water Ingredients for seasoning Sesame (Gingelly) Oil 2 sprig Curry leaves 1/4 Mustard seeds (Rai/ Kadugu) 1/2 teaspoon SSP Asafoetida (Hing) 1 teaspoon White Urad Dal (Split) Instructions To begin making the Vazhaipoo Paruppu Usili Recipe, first soak the toor dal in water for about 3 to 4 hours. Once the dal is soaked until soft; drain the excess water. Into a food processor, add in the toor dal, add little water, salt to taste, torn dried red chillies, and turmeric powder. You can add more chillies if you like it spicier.Blend the lentils into a smooth mixture. If you want the Paruppu Usili to have a coarse texture when steamed, then grind the dal a little coarse.Grease steamer plates or idli plates with a little bit of oil and spoon the ground toor dal (paruppu usili) mixture into the steamer plates.Place the filled steamer plates into the steamer and steam for10 minutes on high heat. Once steamed, turn off the heat. Transfer the steamed dal into a bowl and allow it to cool until we prepare Vazhaipoo for the usili.Clean the Vazhaipoo (banana flower) and keep them soaked in a bowl which has water and curd mixed in it. Soak for ten minutes. Drain and chop Vazhaipoo. Watch our video to learn how to prune the banana flowerHeat 1 teaspoon of sesame oil in a frying pan, add in the chopped Vazhaipoo (banana flower) and turmeric powder, salt to taste, cover and steam cook them for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and keep them aside.In the same pan add some more oil, once oil is hot add mustard seeds, split urad dal and saute till the urad dal turns golden brown in colour.Once the urad dal has turned golden brown, add asafoetida, curry leaves and break the steamed toor dal cakes and add to the pan. Stir fry for 5 to 8 minutes until it forms a crumble. Finally add the cooked Vazhaipoo and stir to combine well .Check for salt and adjust according to taste. Transfer the Vazhaipoo Paruppu Usili Recipe to a serving bowl and serve.Serve Vazhaipoo Paruppu Usili Recipe with Sundakkai / Manathakkali Kai Vathal Kuzhambu, Steamed Rice and Elai Vadam for a delicious lunch.