Kale Usili

Kale Usili

Kale Usili

Usili is one of the popular dishes in Tamil brahmin households. Basically, a medley of steamed lentils and veggies, usili is prepared with vegetables like french beans, cluster beans, cabbage and vazhaipoo.

Usili tends to be pretty filling, and is paired with vathal kuzhambu, mor kuzhambu etc to make for a complete mail.

I ditched the regular veggies, and made this usili using steamed kale greens. The crunchiness of the kale elevates this dish to an entirely new level.

Kale is a highly nutritious variety of greens, rich in certain vitamins and minerals.It is also source of ALA, an Omega-3 fatty acid.

Let's take a look at the ingredients

Ingredients:

Toor Dal- 1/2 cup
Channa dal- 1/2 cup
Lacinato/ Dinosaur Kale- 1 bunch (stalks removed and discarded; leaves roughly chopped)
Dried red chillies- 2 to 3
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Asafoetida- a pinch
Salt- as needed
Oil- 4 tsps

Notes:

1. After rinsing the dals, soak them for a minimum period of 4 to 5 hours. A  longer soaking time helps in faster cooking, and also improves the digestibility of the lentils.
2. This usili can be prepared with toor dal exclusively, as well.

Spices for seasoning:

Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Urad dal- 2 tsps


Preparation:

Drain the water completely, and grind the lentils ,red chillies, and a pinch of asafoetida into a slightly coarse paste. Don't add water while grinding.

Grease a wide plate with some sesame oil. Mix the chopped kale greens with the ground lentil mixture. Add turmeric powder and salt. After mixing it well, steam the kale- ground dal mixture, over a medium flame, for 20-25  minutes.

Once done, let it cool down a bit. Then crumble the cooked kale-lentil mixture with your fingers, and keep it ready. 

In a kadai, heat oil. Add the mustard seeds, and once it splutters, add the urad dal. Once the urad dal starts to brown, add the crumbled kale-dal medley. 

Reduce the flame to medium and cook until the usili is done
Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy this dry lentil based preparation with rice and some kuzhambu of your choice.
Enjoy!!!

Notes:

1. To cook faster and to minimise the quantity of oil to be added, I generally add the roughly chopped kale greens to the ground dal mixture, and steam it together.

2. Another option would be to fry the chopped kale greens separately, and add it to the steamed lentil paste.