Prepare Bisibelebath

Bisibelebath (be-see-bay-lay-bath) is a rice, lentil, and vegetable main dish from Karnataka, South India. Most people who taste it for the first time seem to love it, so give it a try!

  • Preparation Time : 60 - 75 Minutes
  • Difficulty  : Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 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

Steps

  1. Roast and grind
    • Channa dal- 3 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 chilies- 3 or add 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 tsp
    • 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 th cooked.
  9. Add the dal and salt. Mix properly and add the ground paste, tamarind juice, sambar powder and ghee.
  10. Partly cover and cook for a few minutes in reduced flame.
  11. Heat oil in another pan and add the seasonings one by one.
  12. Now add this to the rice. Garnish with coriander leaves.
  13. Serve hot with raita and papad/chips and ghee on top.
    • This bisi bele bath should be in a slightly semisolid consistency than the normal rice.

Tips

  • Add a little bit of additional water while cooking. Add roasted cashew nuts if needed. It will increase the taste.
  • It might not come out well the first time. Try it twice or thrice, and you'll be a master of Bisibelebath (or BBB for short).
  • You can vary the quantities and try it out.
  • Don't overheat and char your dish.

Warnings

  • Be careful while preparing "Tadka", as it involves heated oil. Avoid it if you think you can't manage it. The dish tastes good even without that.

Things You'll Need

  • Rice (1 Cup)
  • Toor Daal (half a cup) (you will get this in any Indian Store)
  • Carrot (4)
  • Potato (2)
  • Beans (1/4 kg)
  • Coriander Leaves
  • Sambar Powder (You get this in an Indian Store)
  • Tamarind Paste (2 tbsp)
  • Cooking Oil (1/4 cup)
  • a pinch of Asafoetida
  • Mustard Seeds

Related Articles

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Prepare_Bisibelebath&oldid=295108"