VENDAKAI/BENDI PARRUPPU USILI

I went to chennai for a short trip last week.

It always gives pleasure to vist our native place

that too when you come back after a stay in other

country.Though in Hyderabad which is my hometown,

it gives great happiness to meet relatives after

a gap of one year.Not to mention about the festive

feeling the moment you land in chennai and pass

through the streets where you come accross the

temples and the flower shops with the aroma of

malligai welcoming you. Being the month of

AADI, you can witness the subeeksham everywhere.

The season of Amman festival in Hyderabad (called

Ammawari Jatra) just finished,I had chance to

witness people making KOOZHU in front of temples

in chennai.

I met my sisters-in-law in chennai, and had opportunity

to exchange views about many traditional recipes and

the posts i made in my blog.They too were ready to

share the signature recipes of their in-law's and

the ones which my husband's grandmother used to make.

I like to post them in my blog.

Paruppu usili called ARAICHU KELARAL by Iyengars is

common.Usually the vegetables used to make the same

are French Beans,Cluster Beans and my mother used to

make with snake gourd too.The practise is, when the

quantity of vegetable is less which is not enough

to make a side dish as curry for a family consuming

1/2 kg, they resort to paruppu usili which increases

the quanity because we add dals for the making

with the less quantity of vegetable.This recipe also

finds place in the menu of all the functions where

food is served in pandhis.

But for a change I had this vendaikai/Bendi paruppu

usili in my sister-in-law's place which is prepared

in their Mylapore house.They are from Thiruvahindrapuram.

Ingredients

Vendaikai 1/2 kg

For usili-grind to coarse paste:

toor dal 1 cup

Red chillies 5

Lg little

salt

For tempering:

Mustard 1 tsp

Udith dal 1 tsp

chena dal 1 tsp

Red Chillies 2

Curry leaves

Soak dal in enough water.Clean and cut bendi. Heat oil add bendi and saute.

Add salt required for bendi and fry till done.When it is crispy remove and keep aside.

Grind soaked dal adding red chillies, salt and Lg to a coarse consistency.

Heat oil in pan and add tempering items and ground dal paste and saute.

when done and look almost fried add cooked bendi and mix well.Fry for a while and see that

the bendi peices dont stick to each other.The curry should look dry.