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Bisi bele bath
Karnataka's hot rice, lentil and vegetable one-pot with tamarind, fresh-roasted spice powder and ghee
Bisi bele bath means 'hot lentil rice' in Kannada, and it's Karnataka's great comfort dish, served in temples, weddings and Bengaluru tiffin rooms. Rice and toor dal are cooked soft with vegetables, then simmered with tamarind, jaggery and a freshly roasted spice powder of lentils, coriander seed, chilli, cinnamon and coconut until it's thick, glossy and spoonable. A generous ghee tempering with cashews and curry leaves goes over the top. Eat it piping hot with crisp potato chips or boondi raita. Chef's tip: make it looser than you think; it thickens fast as it stands, and the right texture is soft and flowing, like a thick porridge.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the spice powder
For the rice and dal
For the vegetables
For the tempering
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: For the spice powder, dry-roast 1 tbsp chana dal and 1 tsp urad dal in a heavy pan over a medium-low heat for 2 minutes until they start to turn golden. Add 2 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds, ¾ in cinnamon stick, 3 cloves and 6 dried Byadagi or Kashmiri chillies and roast for 2–3 minutes more until the coriander is fragrant and the chillies crisp; add 1 tsp white poppy seeds and 2 tbsp desiccated coconut for the last 30 seconds. Don't let anything go dark, or the powder tastes bitter.
5 minStep 2: Cool the roasted spices for 5 minutes, then grind to a fine powder.
5 minStep 3: Rinse 4 oz toor dal (split pigeon peas) and 5 ½ oz short-grain rice (such as sona masuri) together until the water is nearly clear. Put them in a large heavy pot with ½ tsp ground turmeric and 5 cups water and bring to the boil. Skim off the foam, then simmer, partly covered, on a low heat for 25–30 minutes, stirring now and then, until both are very soft and the dal has collapsed. (In a pressure cooker: 4–5 whistles.)
30 minStep 4: Meanwhile, cook 1 carrot, 2 ⅞ oz green beans, 1 potato, 2 ⅛ oz green peas and 8 shallots in a separate pan with just enough water to cover for 8–10 minutes until tender. Keep the cooking water.
10 minStep 5: When the rice and dal are soft, mash them lightly with the back of a ladle. Add the vegetables with their water, 1 tomato, 1 ½ tbsp tamarind paste, 1 tbsp jaggery or brown sugar, 1 ½ tsp salt and 3 tablespoons of the spice powder. Stir well.
2 minStep 6: Simmer on a low heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring often from the bottom so it doesn't catch, adding 1 ¼ cups hot water as needed to keep it loose and pourable. It's done when the raw tamarind smell has gone, it's glossy and the colour is a deep reddish brown. Taste and add more spice powder if you like it hotter.
10 minStep 7: For the tempering, heat 3 tbsp ghee in a small pan over a medium heat. Add 1 tsp black mustard seeds and when it pops, add 2 tbsp raw peanuts and 15 cashew nuts and fry for 1–2 minutes until golden. Add 12 fresh curry leaves and ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing), then pour the sizzling tempering over the pot and stir.
2 minStep 8: Serve straight away, very hot, with an extra spoon of ghee on top if you like. The spice powder keeps in a jar for a month.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 16 g
- Carbs
- 66 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 10 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bisi bele bath take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of coriander seeds?
- Ground coriander, same amount (add it later in the cooking; it burns faster).
- What can I use instead of cumin seeds?
- Ground cumin, three quarters of the amount (add it with the other ground spices, not to hot oil first).
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