Bisi Bele Bath is so popular that you can easily get it in almost every South Indian restaurant in Karnataka and outside this state. Bisi Bele Bath is basically a spicy dish made with rice, lentils and vegetables which is tempered with south Indian. The first time the tradional Bisi Bele Bath was at MTr dinner in Bengaluru (earlier Bangalore), Karnatka. This is also because my husbandrecommended it because this particular dish is of his favorites.
The veggies that can be added in this recipe are carrots, turnips, green peas, brinjal, French beans, Gobi, capsicum (green bell pepper), chayote squash (chow). I have added some of these to my recipe. You can also add your own choice of vegetables.
How to make Bisi Bele Bath
I have divided the entire recipe into 4 steps for ease of understanding and making.
- Step 1 – Cooking rice
- Step 2 – Cooking lentils and vegetables
- Step 4 – Making Bisi Bele Bath
- Step 4 – Tempering Bisi Bele Bath
INGREDIENTS
Sonamasuri rice – 1 cup
Toor dal – 1/2 cup
Carrot – 1 no.
Green beans – 20 no.
Onion – 1 no.
Potato – 1 no.
Besi bele bath powder – 4 tbsp (Samber Powder)
Tamarind – 1 leman size
Tempering
Ghee or Oil – 3 tbsp
Curry leaves – 1 spring
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tbsp
Hing – big pinch
Cashews – 10 no. (optional)
Coriander leaves – 1 bunch
INSTRUCTIONS
Wash and add 1/2 cup toor dal ad 3/4 cu water to a pressure cooker. Add a gooseberry sized tamarind with water in a small bowl and cook along with toor dal. Pressure cook for 4 whistless so that dal is mushy.
Wash and cook 1 cup rice in cup water for 4 whistless. In a deep thick bottom pan, heat a 3 tbsp Ghee or Oil. Add in the onions and fry until they are 3/4th cooked. Once donne, add in the chopped veggies, fry them until they are partially cooked, adding very little water. If you haven’t used kopraa or dessicated coconut while making bisi bele bah powder, you can now blend bisi bele bath powder with a tbsp of kopra, make a thick paste and then add this.
Now add about 4 tbsp of bisi bele bath poder or the paste as above. add the extraced tamarind juice, a small piece of jaggery. Let this simmer for 8 minutes or until the rawness of the powder is cut down.
Next add in the cooked rice and dal . I like to mix the dal with ricce first and then add all at once. You can simply add both separately as well and then mix by adding water as required.
Mash the rice slightly if you like. Let the mixture simer for 8-9 minutes. If required add water as this will get thick once it starts cooling down.
Lastly, in a small pan add in a tbsp ghee or Oil, mustard sedds, curry leavves, hing and cashews turn golden brown in colour. Add this to the cooked bisi bele bath along with chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and serve hot.
Tips
Adding onion or shallots is completely optional. Used about 4 tbsp of the bisi bele bath powder. You can add more or less as per taste. Keep the consistency slightly thin as it will get thicker on coolig down. Addinng ghee to cook this is most preferred . If you are a vegan or don’t like ghee, use oil instead.