Bisi Bele Bath

Bisi Bele Bath

Recipe Type: South Indian

Serves: 8 approx

Ingredients

Rice 1 cup(any short grain basmati rice)

Toor Dal 11/2cup

turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

tomatoes 2

tamarind  1 large lemon sized

Oil 8 tsp 

Mixed veggies 11/2 cup(fresh green peas, beans, carrots, raddish & small onions) cut into pieces

Home-Made BisiBeleBath powder 61/2 tbsp 

Salt to taste 

Ingredients for BBB powder 

1. Byadaygi dried red chillies 24

2. Guntur dried red chillies 8

3. Coriander seeds 4 tbsp

4. Urad dal 2 tsp

5. Channa dal 3 tsp

6. Marathi Moggu 6

7. Cloves 4

8. Cinnamon 1" 2

9. Cardamom 4

10. Mace 1" piece 

11. Fenugreek seeds 1/2 tsp

12. Poppy seeds 1/2 tsp

13. Shredded coconut 4 tbsp 

14. Cumin seeds 1 tsp

15. Whole black pepper 1/2 tsp

16. Curry leaves 10

Ingredients for seasoning

1. Ghee 5 tbsp 

2. Mustard 1 tsp

3. Cashews 1/2 cup

4. Hing 1/4 tsp

5. Curry leaves 3 sprigs 

Method Of Preparation 

1. Wash the rice well under running water till the water runs clean. Soak in water for 15 minutes.

2. Wash the lentils well & keep it aside.

3. Soak tamarind in hot water for 15 minutes.

4. Cook the dal in a pressure cooker with double the amount of water & 1/4 tsp turmeric. Cook till the dal gets nice n soft. After you open the cooker mash the dal with the back of the ladle.

5. Cook rice with 4 or 5 cups of water. I cooked this for 9 whistles but you need to take care of this as each & every cooker might be different. The rice needs to cooked very well in such a way that it needs to blend well with the mashed dal, that's the purpose of using short grain basmati rice.

6. You can also cook the rice & lentil in a pot until well cooked.

7. Cover & cook the cut vegetables with the required amount of water& 1/4 tsp turmeric powder. Add salt half way through. Turn off the gas when the vegetables are cooked but remain firm. Do not overcook the veggies & mash them.

8. Meanwhile in a heavy bottomed pan dry roast the ingredients for the BBB powder. On a low heat, dry roast the poppy seeds n fenugreek seeds. Remove onto a plate once done, then dry roast coconut till the coconut turns a little brown n till u get a nice aroma, then dry roast the curry leaves & remove them onto a plate, then on medium heat dry roast everything else listed under the ingredients till the lentils turn golden brown in color n till it emits a nice aroma. Let this cool & then grind to a smooth powder. Do not remove the lid of the spice grinder until the time you add the spices to the rice & lentils. This is done to not let the aroma escape. 

9. Discard the water in which the tamarind is soaked & keep the pulp aside.

10. In a kadai add oil, add the diced tomatoes & cook. Then add the cooked vegetables along with the stock & give it a stir, then add the tamarind pulp & bring to a boil. Add the mashed dal & rice & keep stirring so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. 

11. Add more hot water if u feel the mixture is getting dry.

12. Mix BBB powder in a tbsp of warm water & mix well to break any lumps & add it to the rice-lentil-veg mixture & cook on sim for 5 minutes. Alternatively you can also add the powder directly to the rice-lentil-veg mixture & mix well well to break any lumps & make sure it gets mixed well with the rice & veggies & cook for 5 minutes on sim. If you feel you need to add more powder, u can add. Turn off the gas after 5 minutes.

13. Add two tbsp of ghee to the rice & mix well.

14. Add the remaining ghee in a hot kadai. Add mustard seeds, when they splutter add the curry leaves, then add cashews & stir till they become golden in color. Now add the hing & turn off the gas & add this tempering to the BBB & immediately cover the baath in order to not let the aromas escape.

15. Serve hot with raita, pappad pickle & more ghee drizzled on the rice.

16. BBB tastes even more when it's served a few hours later after the preparation.


Notes:

If there's left over BBB put it in a sealed airtight container & store for future use.