Bisi Bele Bath

I was bored of cooking the same recipes at my kitchen, and yesterday my Bf just gave me a spark of thought to cook something other than a Tamil nadu or Kerala recipe.. at that moment just remembered my hostel menu, and bisi bele bath clicked my mind. If you had ever visited Bangalore or any part of Karnataka, this recipe is the master of all variety in any Restaurant’s Menu.

Its nothing but the Sambar rice, which is in Tamil nadu however it's a enhanced version of it, being a Non-veg lover, even I have a passion about this, and that’s the reason to share this recipe to you all. You can see this recipe served in most of the udupi sagar restaurants in Bangalore served with the peanuts or kara boondi.You need to prepare the bisi bele bath powder just like the sambar powder and you are all set for the making, here comes the Signature dish of Karnataka.

 

Ingredients:

• Rice (any,preferably sona masoori)- ½ Cup
• Toor Dal- ¾ Cup
• Tamarind - lemon sized (squeezed in water)
• Grated dry coconut – 2 Tspn
• Squash- ½
• Carrot- 1
• Green peas- ½ Cup
• Capsicum- ½ Cup sliced
• Tomato- 1
• Turmeric powder- ¼ Tspn
• Asafoetida- ¼ Tspn
• Peanuts - ¼ Cup
• Jaggery- a small piece.
• Curry Leaves- Few
• Peanut Oil- few
• Salt-To Taste
• Ghee- 2 Tspn
• Mustard seeds- 1 Tspn

For the Bisi Bele Bath Powder:

• Dried red chilies – 10 Nos(adjust as per your taste)
• Coriander seeds- 1 ½ Tspn
• Chana Dal- 1 Tspn
• Urud Dal- 1 Tspn
• Cardamom- 2 nos
• Fenugreek seeds- ¼ Tspn
• Mustard seeds- ½ Tspn
• Black pepper- ½ Tspn
• Poppy seeds – ¼ Tspn
• Cloves- 2
• Cinnamon- small piece
• Curry leaves-few
• Grated coconut- 2 Tspn
• Cumin seeds- ½ Tspn

Method:

• Pressure cook the rice and the dal with turmeric powder for 3 whistles.
• In a separate pan, dry roast all the ingredients under the bisi bele bath powder except coconut, after its fried set it cool and grind to fine powder.Add coconut while grinding,keep that separate.
• In a separate pan, add peanut oil, add tomatoes and sauté well, followed to it add all the vegetables in the ingredients and sauté well, add salt and give a stir.Pour little water to it and cook it covered with a lid.
• After the vegetables are nicely cooked, add the ground powder and sauté again until the masala smell goes from it.
• Add the tamarind extract to this and cook it uncovered until everything combines well.
• Add this mixture to the cooked rice and mix well.
• In a separate pan, add oil, peanuts,mustard seeds and curry leaves and sauté until the peanuts are turned brown.
• Add this to the rice, followed by jaggery and give a quick stir.

Tips:

"Do not cook over cook the veggies as it will smudge into the rice.
Add adequate water while making the curry, so that the rice will not be so thick. Adjust the chili usage as per your spice level."