My post today is cabbage usili. Usili basically means that vegetables are garnished with a gram mixture. One can make an usili with several vegetables, though not in combination. So, cabbage, French beans, long beans, cluster beans… can be used to make an usili. These dishes are nutritious and very tasty. The procedure is similar, whichever vegetable is used.

Ingredients
5 cups finely chopped cabbage (bandh gobi, muttagose)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi, manjal podi)
A generous pinch of asafoetida (hing, perunkayam)
1 sprig curry leaves
Salt to taste
To Soak
1/4 cup Bengal gram (chana dal, kadalai parupu)
1/4 cup pigeon peas (tur dal, thuvaram parupu)
2 dried red chillies
To Temper
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (sarson, kadugu)
1/2 tsp split black gram (urad dal, ulutham parupu)
Method
Wash the Bengal gram and pigeon peas
Soak for 30 minutes, adding the red chillies
Drain the water completely
Transfer to a blender and add asafoetida, curry leaves and salt
Grind to a coarse paste (no need to add water)
Make lemon sized balls of the ground mixture
Steam for about 10 minutes
Let it cool and pulse in a blender to get a fine powder
Set aside
Steam the cabbage for about 10 minutes
Set aside
Heat a medium sized wok
Add mustard seeds
When they begin to splutter, add the split black gram
Once the black gram becomes golden brown, add the steamed cabbage, turmeric powder and salt
Mix well
Cover and cook for about 3 minutes or till spices are well blended into the cabbage (do not add water)
Stir occasionally
Now add the ground powder and cook on low flame for 6-7 minutes
Remove from flame and serve hot with brown/red rice
Enjoy!