Friday 12 April 2013

Bisi Bēle Bhāth

The name bisi bēle bhāth is a Kannada phrase, which literally means "hot lentil rice". In Kannada, bisi means hot, bēle means lentil, and bhāth means a dish made of rice with its origin in the state of Karnataka, India.It is a quick one pot meal.
There are different ways to make hot lentil rice. My way of making is as below.

Ingredients:
For the main dish:
Toor dal (Yellow Lentil) - 1/4 cup
Masoor Dal (Red Lentil) - 1/4 cup
Rice - 1 cup
Onion-1 sliced thin lengthwise
Tomato-1 diced
Green peas - 3/4 cup
Carrot - 1 diced
Green Beans - 8-10 cut into pieces
Potatoes - 1 diced
Asafoetida/Hing - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Oil-1 tbsp
Tamarind paste-2 tsp
Water-6 cups

For the masala:
Chana dal (Split bengal gram)- 1 tbsp
Urad Dal (Split skinned black gram) - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 3 tbsp
Dry Coconut - 100gms
Dry red chillies - 10 (you can reduce or increase as per your taste)
Poppy seeds (khus khus) - 1 1/2tsp
Cloves - 4 nos
Cardamoms - 4 nos
Cinnamon - 3 1'' pieces
Curry leaves - Few
Vegetable Oil or Ghee (Clarified Butter) - 1 tbsp
For Garnishing:
Oil/ Ghee (Clarified butter) - 2 tbsp
Curry leaves - Few
lemon juice-1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Cashew Nuts - few

Recipe:
For Masala
  1. Heat the pan and dry roast chana dal and urad dal & then heat little oil in a pan. Add red chillies, fenugreek, coriander seeds and grated dry coconut. Fry until fenugreek turns golden brown in color.
  2. Heat a little oil and fry poppy seeds, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. Powder the above things and keep it aside.
For main dish
  1. Wash and soak rice and lentils.
  2. Add oil into pressure cooker.Once hot add cumin seeds,hing/asafoetida.
  3. Once the cumin seeds crackle add onions and saute.
  4. Now add the all vegetables(tomato,carrots,potatoes,green peas,green beans) and saute well.(Assorted vegetables could be added)
  5. Now add in the soaked rice and lentils, tamarind paste, masala prepared,water and salt to taste and mix thoroughly.
  6. Pressure cook till 4 whistles and then on a low heat for 10-15 mins(simmering).
For garnishing
  1. Heat little ghee and fry cashew nuts until golden brown in color.Take out fried cashewnuts and keep aside.
  2. To same hot ghee, add remaining 1 or 2 red chillies, mustard, and curry leaves.
  3. Mix well with the Bhath and remove from fire. If you like ghee, add just before serving.
  4. Enjoy with Raita/Chips/Papads
Note:
Ready-made masala may be used instead. I would recommend ready made MTR Bisi bele bhath powder.
Shallots could be preferred over normal onions.
Enjoy the dish! n don't forget Eat and Eat little MORE.. :)
 Sending this to Nayna's simplysensationalfood
 

4 comments:

  1. Looking gr8 but slightly different than the regular BBBB ( Bangalore Bisi Bele Bath).May be due to slight change in the ingredients. I remember Bangalore Cooks ( for function) were insisting for Knool Kol for this..The new look of the blog is attractive

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    1. Yes true.Knol Khol is preferred but due to the non availability here I couldn't add that.
      I'm on a less spicier side for bisi bele bhath for my husband doesn't prefer very spicy bhath. Mine was so mild that even my kid could enjoy with a tablespoon of curd! :)

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    2. Yes I too prefer the milder version..and thick curd is a good combi too

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    3. Yes, I never tasted it with curd earlier as papads or chips were accompanying Bisi Bele Bhath. But this time tasted with curd and it was heavenly. :)

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