Bisi Bele Bath

Bisi bele bath to me is a special vegetarian Sunday lunch. Sis and I will ask mom to cook this frequently. When my mom cooks Bisi Bele Bath, the aroma of ghee and the flavor of the dish fills the entire house. Mom cooks it in two ways – cooking rice and sambar separately and mixing both, or cooking everything together in the pressure cooker. I chose the second method as it doesn’t require me to be in the kitchen for a long time.

 

Bisi Bele Bath:

Soaking Time: 1 hour | Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Serves : 5

Recipe Category: Entree

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 cup, soaked and drained

Toor Dal – 1 cup, soaked and drained

Mixed Vegetable – 2 cups (I used carrots, beans, capsicum, potato and drumstick)

Ghee – 3 tbsp

Sesame Oil – 1/4 tsp

shallots – 15

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder – 1/4 tsp

Sambar Powder – 1/2 tsp

Tamarind – 2 tbsp

Roasted Peanuts – 2 tbsp

Cashew – 2 tbsp

Water – 6 cups

Salt – to taste

To temper:

Mustard Seeds – 1/8 tsp

Fenugreek – 1/8 tsp

For Bisi Bele Bath Powder (makes Approx. 1/4 Cup)

Chana dal (split bengal gram) – 1 tbsp

Cinnamon  powder – 1 tsp (optional)

Coconut – 3 tbsp, grated

Red chillies – 3

Coriander  seeds – 1 tbsp

Peppercorn – 1/4 tsp

Fenugreek – 1/4 tsp

Fennel Seed – 1/4 tsp

Shallots – 3

Oil – 1 tsp (I used coconut oil)

Method:

• Add oil to the pan, add all the ingredients (Except Coconut) listed under ‘For Bisi Bela Bath Powder ‘ and saute on low flame for 4 – 5 mins or till they turn golden brown in colour. Add coconut after switching off and keep aside to cool. After the ingredients are cooled, add zwater and blend in a mixer to a fine paste and keep aside

• Add Ghee to the Pressure cooker. When ghee is hot, add the items under ‘To Temper’ and let the mustard seed crackle. Add shallots and saute for 2 minutes, then add vegetables and saute for 5 minutes. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, sambar powder and give a quick mix. Add the blended paste and mix well

 

• Add rice, toor dal, tamarind and mix gently. Saute on medium flame for 2 minutes. Add salt,  and 6 cups of hot water, mix gently. Finally add peanuts, cashew and sesame oil. Pressure cook on a high flame for 4 whistles

• Allow the steam to escape before opening the lid. Garnish with Coriander/Boondi/sev/Oma pudi and serve hot

My Notes:

• Chop vegetables into big chunks so they won’t became mushy while cooking
• I soaked rice and toor dal together in hot water for 1 hour
• Instead of homemade bisi bele bath paste, you can also use bisi bele bath powder available in the stores
• If you are using Drumsticks boil them separately, and add it to cooked Bisi Bele bath rather than cooking along with other veggies. This would prevent Drumstick from breaking apart

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