Fried gram and beans stir-fry (Beans paruppu usili)

Paruppu Usili is my husband's top favorite. But I just can't get myself to prepare it - as it takes at least an hour to prepare, involves a lot of utensils and vanishes in a flash, but doesn't quite fit my "quick and healthy" bill. By the time I'm done, I'm so exhausted that all my plans for the rest of the day are thrown to the winds, and worst of all, it doesn't always taste so good either. So, mastering this dish is not something I would have ever attempted, but for my sister-in-law. She makes amazing paruppu usili, without needing a dose of glucose after the "ordeal". When she visited us this holiday season, she gladly offered to prepare it for her brother and let me share her recipe on my blog. This recipe goes to Akila's event Dish name starting with F.

Ingredients (serves 4):

beans - 1 lb (about 450 grams) chopped fine
red gram - 1/2 cup
red chillies - 5
ginger paste - 1/2 tsp (or peeled ginger - 1 inch piece)
oil - 2 tbsp
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
black gram - 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - 1 stalk (optional)
turmeric powder - a pinch
salt - 1 tsp

Method:

Soak gram in warm water for half an hour. Drain and grind with minimal necessary water to a thick paste, along with red chillies, turmeric powder, ginger and half the salt. Steam-cook the gram paste, cool and disintegrate into tiny lumps. Keep aside. Microwave the beans with the remaining half of the salt for 5 minutes (or until cooked) and keep aside. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add black gram and mustard seed. When it splutters, add curry leaves and gram lumps. Fry for about five minutes, until the gram lumps start turning golden brown. Add cooked beans, mix well and allow to fry for a couple more minutes. Serve as a side dish. Makes a particularly great combination with morkuzhambu.

Notes:
1. To steam cook, the gram paste can simply be placed on an idly plate over a thin layer of covered boiling water for about 8-10 minutes.
2. Frying the gram properly is the very essence to make or break this dish.