Green beans and bell pepper Parippu Usli

One of my new year resolutions was to conquer my fear of making rotis and parathas- beacuase that is really what it is - A fear of failing. So this year, at least once a month I attempt to roll out rotis or partthas for the family. I am slowly getting better - the rotis are not stiff as cardboard anymore. Their shape continues to defy description.  I made some Parippu Usli to go with compensate for the rotis. Parippu Usli is one of those traditional Tambrahm foods; really simple and extremely delicious.  I made it with a combination of green beans and bell pepper.  And twisted it up some more by swapping moong daal for the traditional Thuvar daal.

2 lbs green beans chopped fine

12 oz bag of mixed frozen bell peppers ( or about 2 fresh bell peppers chopped)

1/2 tsp mustard

2 dried red chillies

2 -3  tbsp oil

For the usli

1/2 c moong daal

2 tbsp channa daal

2 serrano peppers (This made it quite spicy. Use less if you want a milder version)

1 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves

A fistful of coriander leaves and stems

1 inch piece of ginger

1 tsp of cumin

Soak the moong daal and the channa daal together for a couple of hours at least. If you don't have couple of hours (like me) microwave the soaked daals  for 5 minutes, cover it with a plate and set it on the counter for about 25 to 30 minutes.

Now chop your green beans.

Drain the soaked daals, add the other ingredients for the usli and process to a coarse paste without adding water. Add salt to taste.  Put the processed  daals  in a microwave safe bowl and steam for 3 to 4 minutes. It should come together into a mass. Make sure it is not too dry. Break it up with a fork and steam for a couple more minutes in the microwave.

Heat the oil in a pan and temper it with the mustard seeds and dried red chilies. Add the green beans, salt lightly, cover and cook  for about 7 to 8 minutes. The beans should still have a crunch. Add the dal mixture(breaking up the clumps if necessary)and the bell peppers and continue to cook (another 10 minutes almost) till the beans soften and the ground daal is  not smelling or tasting raw anymore.  Serve hot with rotis or rice. 

Green beans and wheat berry salad

I love the bulk bins at the grocery store. All kinds of exciting lentils, beans, grains and spices waiting for you to try . Chanting the mantra that I need to eat more whole grains, I picked up some wheat berries. I remembered this very easy sounding recipe for wheat berry pilaf and thought I could try it. That was almost 6 months ago.

You know what comes next. You come back from your weekly grocery shopping outing and  there is no more room in your kitchen pantry.

Then you make a vow to eat through your pantry supplies before you buy more.

Then begins the phase of discovery.

-I discovered a wild rice salad made with onions and dried fruit

-I discovered that cajun spice rub tastes flavorless when it is forgotten for some time.

-I discovered that thyme and dill added to a salad dressing adds a new dimension of flavor

And then I discovered the wheat berries.

Cooking wheat berries seemed simple enough… a simple soak and a boil.

I soaked. And I boiled. The berries were hard.

So I boiled some more and  the berries were still hard. It took me   almost 4.5 hours to get that perfect chewy texture.

Let me spare you the trouble and share with you lessons learned

1. When you buy stuff from the bulk bin, label it precisely
2. There are 2 kinds of wheat berries… the kind that I bought take a long cooking time  and are called "hard wheat berries". Buy the other kind.
3. Cooked wheat berries store wonderfully in the freezer, so make a big batch   

The recipe

This is best served warm or at room temperature.  Pan frying the wheat berry kernels adds a wonderful texture to the salad. I used wheat berries that I had cooked and frozen earlier for this recipe; thawing the wheat berries in the microwave.

Serves 6  easily

3 cups cooked wheat berries

1 16oz bag frozen french cut beans

2 cups finely shredded cabbage

1/4 c finely chopped onion

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp freshly ground  black pepper

2 tbsps finely chopped cilantro

1 tbsp oil

1 1/2 limes juiced or more to taste

Salt to taste.

Heat the oil in a large wok or large fry pan. Add the cumin seeds. Once they crackle, add the black pepper and the onions. Saute the onions until translucent. Add the green beans and stir fry on high heat about 3 minutes. Add the wheat berries to the wok. Stir fry for  3 more minutes. Take the wok off the heat and add the chopped cabbage.

Add lime juice and salt to taste.

The family heirloom and some green beans

There it was wrapped in yellowing newspaper with rust stains on it. But it was beautiful and the hubby assured me that all it required was a good scrubbing to get rid of the rust. So I carted it all the way from Bangalore to Portland in my suitcase this time. It has now been passed down from Mother in Law to Daughter- in Law for 3 generations. I am talking about my family heirloom - the 'bandale' or the wok.
A pound of green beans and  this recipe resulted in these crunchy, spicy green beans. I loved the idea of using nuts for texture. I modified the recipe and eliminated a few steps to make it a one wok recipe.

Serves 4 to 6
Total time from start to finish (30 minutes)

1 lb green beans
1/4 c dry roasted  Peanuts
2 tbsp dry roasted Sesame seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp whole Cumin
3 to 4 dried red peppers ( I used a combination of Anaheim and Ancho)
2 tsps canola oil
1 tsp sesame oil
*1 inch piece of ginger cut into matchsticks
*2 cloves garlic minced
salt to taste
Juice from half a lime (or more)

Wash and string the green beans.
Combine  the peanuts, sesame seeds, corainder, cumin and dired red chillies and grind. The mixture should be fairly coarse.
Heat the canola and the sesame oil in a big wok.( The wok should not be more than half full when you add the green beans)
Add the ginger and garlic and stir for a minute. Add the green beans, increase the heat to high. Keep stirring often. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes, slating the beans half way through the cooking. The beans should cook through but still retain a bite.
Add the ground nuts and spices and stir fry for a couple more minutes. Squeeze lime juice over the beans.
Serve hot with rice.
* The powdered nuts with the spices really elevated this recipe from the ordinary. I couldn't really taste the ginger and the garlic- so you might want to either add more or leave it out entirely.