Usal Recipe
Usal is a Maharashtrian curried dish made with legumes/sprouted legumes or mixed sprouted legumes and is had with pav (bread), chapati or rice.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
for cooking sprouts
- 1.5 cups mixed legumes sprouts (legumes)
- 1.25 cups water for cooking sprouts
for the usal masala
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- ½ tablespoon fennel seeds (saunf)
- ¼ cup onion, chopped
- 4 to 5 medium garlic cloves (lahsun), chopped
- ½ inch ginger (adrak), chopped
- ½ cup desiccated coconut or ½ cup fresh coconut
- ½ to ⅔ cup water for grinding the masala paste
for the usal
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ¼ cup onion or 1 medium sized onion, chopped
- ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes or 1 medium sized tomato, chopped
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- 1 teaspoon malvani masala or goda masala or ½ teaspoon garam masala (optional)
- 1 cup of broth or stock got from boiling the sprouts or water
- salt as required
- 2 to 3 tablespoons coriander leaves for garnishing
Instructions
cooking mixed bean sprouts
- Sprout ½ cup of dried mixed beans a couple of days before to make the usal. You will need 1.5 cups of mixed bean sprouts.
- Pressure cook or steam the sprouted beans till they are cooked. If pressure cooking, then cook the mixed bean sprouts in 1.25 cups water.
- When the bean sprouts are cooked and tender. Keep the cooked mixed sprouts aside.
making usal masala
- On a tava or pan heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add the chopped onion.
- Fry the onions till they become translucent.
- Add the fennel seeds and coriander seeds to the onions. Fry till they become aromatic.
- Add chopped ginger and garlic and fry these too for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the desiccated coconut.
- Stir and mix it well with the rest of the mixture.
- Fry the coconut till golden brown. But remember not to burn the coconut and to fry the masala on a low flame.
- Let the masala mixture cool. Then make a smooth paste of the masala ingredients in the grinder with ½ to ⅔ cup water.
making usal
- In another pan, heat 2 tablespoon oil. Add the chopped onions.
- Saute the onions till they turn translucent.
- Next add the chopped tomatoes.
- Saute the tomatoes for 2 to 3 mins or till they soften.
- Pour the ground masala paste. Since we have already browned the paste, we have less work to do. Just fry the paste for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the turmeric powder, malvani masala and red chili powder.
- Mix the above powders well with the coconut paste.
- Add the boiled sprouts to the paste.
- Add 1 cup broth or stock or add more, as per the consistency desired by you. You can also add water instead of broth or stock.
- Add salt. Lastly let the entire curry simmer for 12 to 15 minutes or till you see some oil floating on top.
- Last step is to add chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve maharashtrian usal with steamed rice or bhakri or pav or phulkas or pooris. You can also make misal pav with this malvani usal recipe.