Easy south Indian lunch recipes | Lunch menu 1

Easy south Indian lunch recipes, menu idea with Mor kuzhambu, paruppu usili. Just a rough idea with recipe links, how to prepare the lunch.

This post is my first one for many ideas I am planning to share weekly. I am not going to post the recipes elaborately, just linking my existing recipes and sharing a possible combination.

So that it will be easy and helpful for many to pre-plan their lunch in weekends/ weekdays. For myself, and also for many people like me. I also want to let know, this may not have any fancy combinations or elaborate lunch mostly.

Instead, simple most of the times, yet will try my best to match the best combinations and . If any of the recipes in the menu is not in my blog and if you want that specific recipe, you can leave a message requesting that recipe and I will try posting the recipe soon.  

Recipe links

1. More kuzhambu

2. Cluster beans paruppu usili

Meal preparation

1. To start with, here is the classic combo more kuzhambu and paruppu usili.
2. On wake up, soak dal for paruppu usili.
3. Take out required curd and keep it outside as it will be good to have room temperature curd for mor kuzhambu.
4. When you are ready for preparing lunch, (after dal is soaked) first prepare usili.
5. That is grind, steam it. While it is steaming, you can chop ladies finger first.
6. Saute it in sesame oil. This is done in low flame. So use this time to chop cluster beans.
7. To chop cluster beans, stack same sized and cut top and tip first.
8. Then finely chop it as needed for the usili.
9. By now dal and ladies finger will be ready. Keep them aside.
10. Continue by cooking cluster beans.

Tip of the week

To save time and finish the work easily, here are some short cuts.

• Soak dal for paruppu usili in hot water. It gets soaked faster, though there may be slight difference in texture.
• While you steam for paruppu usili, keep cluster beans also inside so that it gets steamed together.
• I do not do it as I like to season the vegetable as it get cooked. But it will not be bad to mix the spices and salt later as well.
• Instead of steaming, if the dal is very less in quantity, you can stir fry in kadai itself.
• Grind the dal for paruppu usili coarsely without any water to ensure a good texture. If you add water and grind smoothly, then fluffing it becomes time consuming. You can give it a run in mixie after cooling in that case to fasten the process.

My notes

We always try the best to include some dal everyday in our meals and since the kuzhambu is yogurt based, the paruppu usili has lentils and complete the meal.

I have made it with ladies finger/ Okra/ vendakkai. To add ladies finger in mor kuzhambu, we usually fry it in 2 tablespoon sesame oil until black spot appears and the stickiness also goes away. Then boil it until done with salt. Then add it to the mor kuzhambu.

Other veggies that can be added in mor kuzhambu are – chow chow/ chayote, white pumpkin, brinjal, arbi/ seppankizhangu and even we make small bondas and add to the mor kuzhambu.

Even paruppu urundais can be added to this kuzhambu. All the veggies should be cooked before with little water and salt before adding to the kuzhambu.

Share the vegetable you add instead of the above.

Other vegetables that can be perfect for paruppu usili are beans, long beans, cabbage/carrot, broad beans, capsicum, spring onion/ onion and vazhaipoo (banana flower).