Bisi Bele Bhath
Bisi bele Bhath : A traditional Karnataka dish made of rice, tuvar daal(lentil), vegetables and variety of spices! It’s a wholesome meal on its own.
Recently we saw “Raja, Rasoi aur Anya Kahaniyaan” on Netflix. One of the episodes was on the food originated from Mysore palace, Karnataka. According to the show bisi bele bhath was first made by Mysore palace chefs along with other dishes and sweets. So this is the history behind this “hot lentil rice dish!”
I have ordered this as takeout from our local South Indian joint so many times when I’m feeling lowly and looking for delicious comfort food but don’t want to go in kitchen and make it. It’s very similar to vegetables khichadi we gujjus make. Each cuisine has a place for khichadi and they give different name to it. This bisi bele bhath has various spices and tamarind in it. After ordering way too many times, I decided to make it homemade. After couple of tries, I got it right. I used MTR brand masala to make this. (Not sponsored) It was very convenient to use the readymade masala. I paired it with carrot-cucumber riata, mixed vegetables achar, onion and rice papad. Trust me, it was a wholesome and very comforting dinner! And my husband loved it. I’m sure you will also like it. Here is the recipe…
Bisi Bele Bhath
- 1 cup rice
- 1/2 cup tuvar dal
- 6-8 shallots
- 2 tbsp fresh grated coconut ((optional))
- 2 tbsp MTR brand bisi bele bhath masala powder
- 1 small lemon-sized tamarind ball
- 1 1/2 tsp jaggery
- salt ((to taste))
- 1 tsp ghee
- 1 handful green peas
- 1/2 cup green beans, chopped
- 1/4 cup bell pepper, cubed ((optional))
- 1/2 cup carrots, diced
- 1/2 cup potatoes, diced
- coriander leaves ((for garnish))
Tadka
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 10 cashews, broken
- 1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 broken red chili, deseeded
Wash and soak rice and tuvar daal for at least 30 mins.
Pressure cook rice & daal together for 3 whistle.
Soak tamarind in half cup hot water. Squeeze it and filter to a bowl.
Add the MTR bisi bele bath powder, jaggery, salt to the tamarind juice. Mix well to remove lumps. Set aside.
Heat a pan with 1 tsp ghee, add the vegetables and sauté for 3 to 4 mins.
Pour 1 cup of water and cook the vegetables till they are 70% done. This way they retain the crunchiness.
Pour the tamarind mix and stir well. Allow it to boil for few minutes.
Add the rice-daal and mix well. Add 1 to 1 1/4 cups water and stir well. Let the rice come to a boil on a medium flame. This takes around 5-7 minutes.
Cook till the rice reaches a desired consistency.
Taste and adjust spices and salt.
In a small pan take ghee for tadka. Put mustard seeds in it. When it splatters, add asafetida, red chili, curry leaves and cashews.
Pour the tadka over the bisi bele bath. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Ready to serve. Bisi bele bath is usually served with papad, raita and achar.
This looks so yummy! I’d love some right now 😁
It’s very delicious and super easy to make. Do try it and let me know.