Bisi bele bath: A classic Karnataka dish

• • Raw Rice – 2 cups
  • Thoor dal – 1 cup
  • Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
  • Asafoetida – ¼ tsp
  • Peas – ½ cup
  • Shallots – ½ cup (Optional)
  • Tomatoes – 2 cut finely
  • Carrot -1 chopped into small pieces
  • Beans – 10 chopped finely
  • Potatoes -1 chopped into small pieces
  • Drumsticks – 1 cut into 3” pieces (Optional)
  • Brinjal – 1 cut into cubes. (Optional)
  • Chowchow – ¼ cup cut into cubes
  • Garlic – 6 cloves (Optional)
  • Green chillies – 3

These are the main veggies. You can add any vegetable you want to this except beets and bitter gourd. The more the vegetables the better the taste.

• Sambar powder- 1 tsp(optional. As I use very little red chilies, I add this for better colour. I use sakthi masala
• Tamarind – 1 small lemon sized.
• Salt to taste
• Ghee – 5 tsp
• Coriander leaves – 3 tsp chopped

1. Roast and grind:
Channa dal- 2 tsp
Thoor Dal – 1 tsp
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Coriander seeds- 3 tsp
Jeera- 1 ½ tsp
Pepper- ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds- ½ tsp
Saunf/Aniseeds- ½ tsp
Curry leaves- a few
Red chillies- 3 (or to taste)
Cinnamon- 2 one inch pieces
Cloves- 5
Coconut- 3 to 4 tsp

2. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add all the spices except coconut and fry for 2 minutes. Then add coconut finally and fry for a minute. Cool it and grind it to a fine paste by adding water.

3. For seasoning, mix
Oil- 3 tsp
Mustard seeds- ½ tps
Broken urad dal- ¼ tsp
Fenugreek seeds- ¼ tsp
Curry leaves- a few

4. Pressure cook the dal with turmeric powder and asafetida and set aside.

5. Soak the tamarind in water and squeeze the juice.

6. In a cooker or big vessel, add 10 cups of water(1:5 ratio).

7. When it boils add the rice and the vegetables(from peas to green chillies).

8. When the rice is ¾ cooked add the dal and salt. Mix properly and add the ground paste, tamarind juice, sambar powder and ghee.

9. Partly cover and cook for a few minutes in reduced flame.

10. Heat oil in another pan and add the seasonings one by one.

11. Now add this to the rice. Garnish with coriander leaves.

12. Serve hot with raita and papad/chips and ghee on top.

This bisi bela bhath should have a slightly semisolid consistency.