Meals · Karnataka

Bisi Bele Bath

Karnataka's hot lentil rice: rice, toor dal and vegetables cooked soft with tamarind, jaggery and a freshly roasted spice powder, finished with ghee and cashews.

Prep 25 min · Cook 40 min · Total 65 min · Serves 4

Ingredients

Rice and dal

• ¾ cup Raw rice
• ½ cup Toor dal
• ¼ tsp Turmeric

Vegetables

• 1 Carrot, cubed
• 100 g Green beans, in 2 cm pieces
• ½ cup Green peas
• 1 Small potato, cubed
• 8 Shallots, peeled
• 1 Tomato, chopped
• 2 tbsp Tamarind pulp
• 1 tbsp Jaggery
• 1 ½ tsp Salt

Bisi bele bath powder

• 1 tbsp Chana dal
• 1 tbsp Urad dal
• 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp Fenugreek seeds
• 6 Byadgi chillies
• 1 inch Cinnamon stick
• 4 Cloves
• 2 tbsp Dry coconut, grated

Tadka

• 3 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 12 Cashews
• 1 sprig Curry leaves
• 1 pinch Asafoetida

Method

1. Cook rice and dal. Pressure-cook the rice and dal together with the turmeric and 3 1/2 cups water for 4 whistles, until very soft. Mash lightly.
2. Make the powder. Dry-roast the chana dal, urad dal, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, chillies, cinnamon and cloves on low heat until the dals are golden. Add the coconut for the last minute. Cool and grind to a fine powder.
3. Cook the vegetables. Simmer the vegetables in 1 1/2 cups water with a pinch of salt until tender. Add the tamarind, jaggery, salt and 3 tbsp of the powder and boil for 5 minutes until the raw tamarind smell goes.
4. Combine. Stir the mashed rice and dal into the vegetables with 1 cup hot water. Simmer on low, stirring often, until it is thick but still pourable.
5. Tadka. Heat the ghee, fry the cashews until golden, then add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida. Pour over the bath.
6. Serve. Serve piping hot (bisi means hot) with a spoon of ghee, raita and potato chips or boondi.

Tips

It thickens a lot as it stands. Keep some hot water by you and loosen it before serving; it should flow slowly off the spoon.