Thursday, September 20, 2007

Kadale KaaLu Usli

Usli is a side dish made of dry beans. I am using Kadale KaaLu here for Usli. This one is supposed to be Lord Ganesha's favorite (and my Dad's too!) and is served as a prasada in most of the temples in Karnataka. So, this ought to be one of my entries for RCI-Karnataka hosted by Asha.




Ingredients:


Kadale KaaLu/Black Channa : about a cup
1/2 chopped Onion
Green Chillies: 3-4
Garlic: about 3-4 cloves
Ginger: a small piece
Grated Coconut: about 3 spoons
Coriander Leaves
Lemon juice
Salt


For Tempering: A little Oil, Mustard seeds, Curry Leaves and a pinch Asafoetida/Hing


Method:

Soak Kadale KaaLu in enough water for about 3-4 hours. Pressure cook the same soon after.
Drain water and keep aside.
Heat a little oil in a pan. Add in mustard seeds, curry leaves and a pinch of hing. After the mustard seeds sputter, add in chopped green chillies and onions. Also add in diced ginger and garlic. Once the onions begin to turn golden brown, add in the cooked kaaLu/Channa and salt as per taste. Cook for few minutes. Garnish it with grated coconut and coriander leaves. Sprinkle with lemon juice before serving.


Usli goes best with Akki Rotti. It could also be used along with Chapathi.


The above quantity serves 2 people.

4 comments:

FH said...

Mine too, yesterday I soaked a whole packet of Kadalekalu and planning to make LOT of dishes with it!:))
Looks yum, I usually make it with Tomato saaru!:))
Thanks G, love ya!:)

TBC said...

I like this usli too. I make something very similar without the ginger and garlic.

Regarding your query on my cauliflower soup post, I don't think a substitute for the nutmeg will work here. In this soup, it is the nutmeg which imparts most of the flavor.
You could try not using it and let me know how it turns out for you.

Anu said...

Hi G,
Lovely blog and nice recipe. This is something i love, we used to shamelessly ask for extra helpings of the prasadam :)

Grihini said...

Asha: Thanks. Do share other kadale kaalu recipes. I only know to make usli and saaru with it.

TBC: Ginger and Garlic goes very well with this Usli, especially Garlic. Try it.. And thanks for the tip on cauliflower soup. Its next in my list to try!

Anu: He hee :) I used to do that too in temples. Thankyou for the nice comment. I will shortly visit your blog. :)