Vazhaipoo Paruppu Usilli | Banana Flower Paruppu Usili

Vazhaipoo Paruppu Usilli with more kuzhambu

5 from 18 votes

Vazhaipoo Paruppu Usilli | Banana Flower Paruppu Usili

Vazhaipoo Paruppu Usilli is one of the delicacies from Tamil Nadu, India. It is usually paired with a More Kuzhambu but can be combined with any other kuzhambu and/or rasam to make a complete South Indian meal.

Prep Time1

Cook Time1

Soaking time2

Total Time4

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: South Indian, Tamil Nadu

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: people

Calories: 239kcal

Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Equipment

Stove
Wide pan

Ingredients

1 Banana flower Medium with petals removed, cleaned and chopped – Look for the pictorial above
½ cup Tuvaram paruppu / Toor dal
½ cup Kadalai paruppu / Channa dal
2 tablespoon Payatham paruppu / Moong dal
4 Red chilies
¼ teaspoon Asafetida
Salt to taste

To season –

1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
2 teaspoon Kadalai paruppu / channa dal / split Bengal gram dal
2 Red chilies
¼ teaspoon Asafetida
Curry leaves few
2 tablespoon Oil

Instructions

Clean and chop the banana flower as described above in the introduction. Refer to the pictorial to help you. Immerse the chopped banana flowers in diluted buttermilk to prevent oxidization.
Soak the lentil for about an hour to two.
Drain the lentils well and then grind it into a coarse paste with salt, red chilies and asafetida.
Drain and wash the banana flower to remove the residual buttermilk and then squeeze them dry. Add the banana flower to the lentil mixture and mix it well to combine.
Transfer this mixture into a greased steamer plate or in idli plates and steam it for about 10 -12 mins until the mixture appears cooked and glossy. When you touch the steamed mixture it will appear hard and it should not stick to your fingers.
Remove and let it cool down enough to handle. Now either with your hands or using a blender make a crumble of the lentil mixture. Most of the time I just do it using my hands as it is one less thing to wash.
Heat a wide pan and add oil to it. Add all the ingredients listed under seasoning and fry it for a minute.
Now add the steamed and crumbled lentil mixture and give it a good mix. Let it further cook for about 5 minutes so all the flavors could come together.
I served vazhaipoo paruppu usilli with White pumpkin more kuzhambu and rice!

Nutrition