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Thursday, April 12, 2012

Bisi Bele Bhath (Rice With Lentils And Vegetables)


          Bisi Bele Bhath is a popular dish from the state of Karnataka in India. Though there are so many other variety of dishes from here, this is the one that pops up immediately, especially for people from the other states. It's a one pot meal, well balanced with carbohydrates, protein and vegetables, a perfect meal and it tastes great too. It gets its flavor from the freshly ground masala, everybody has their own version, this is mine..

Need To Have
  • Long Grain Rice - 1 cup
  • Tuvar Dal (Red Gram Dal) - 1/2 cup
  • Shallots - 1/2 cup sliced
  • Capsicum - 1 chopped
  • Eggplant - 1 small cubed
  • Carrots - 1 sliced
  • Fresh Green Peas - 1/2 cup
  • Tomato - 1 chopped
  • Tamarind - small lime size
  • Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
  • Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
  • Urad (Split Black Gram) Dal - 1 teaspoon 
  • Curry Leaves - 10
  • Chopped Coriander Leaves - 2 tablespoons
  • Broken Cashews - 1 tablespoon
  • Asafoetida - 1/2 teaspoon
  • Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
For The Paste
  • Dried Red Chillies - 8
  • Coriander Seeds - 3 tablespoons
  • Cinnamon Stick - 1" piece
  • Cloves - 4
  • Bengal Gram Dal - 3 teaspoons
  • White Poppy Seeds - 1 teaspoon
  • Grated Coconut - 2 tablespoons
  • Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon


Method 
          Pressure cook the rice and the dal with turmeric. Roast the ingredients given for the paste in a teaspoon of oil, adding the coconut at the end, remove, cool and grind. Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract the juice and roast the cashews in a little oil, remove and keep. Heat oil, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, once it stops spluttering add the asafoetida and the shallots, saute for 2 mins, add the other vegetables (eggplant, capsicum, carrot and tomatoes). Saute for 5 mins, add the tamarind extract, salt and some water, cover and cook the vegetables. Cook the peas alone (I microwave them to retain the green color). Once the vegetables are done, add the paste, cook  for 5 more mins, then add the rice, dal and the peas. Mix everything, remove, garnish with the chopped coriander and the roasted cashews. Serve it warm with some pappads and raitha.

Sending it to Cuisine Delights for the Spotlight - Lunch Box Ideas event,
                 to Food Corner for the Midweek Fiesta event,
                 to Srav's Cooking Concepts for the CC - Spring Seasonal Food event,
                 to Divya's Culinary Journey for her Showcase - What's In Your Lunch Box? event,
                 to Zesty Palette for Vidhya's Love Lock Series - Legumes event and
                 to Taste Of Pearl City for the Healthy Morsels - Pregnancy event.

Note
Can cook the rice and dal+turmeric separately or together.
The finished dish should be like a thick porridge, it thickens when it cools.
You can add ghee for more flavor and also peanuts instead of cashews.
Use chillies according to your spice level.










     

31 comments:

  1. my fav one pot meal, love the way u made it. very flavorful combo of spices

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  2. wow very nice recipe,bbb is my fav...gr8 presentation...

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  3. This looks gorgeous! So many ingredients.. But so worth it.

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  4. Absolutely healthy and wonderfully well made one...Pass me the plate.

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  5. My comforting food, would love to have this super delicious BBB even everytime..

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  6. wow yummy rice .. jus simple raitha will do grt..

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  7. This is one of my fav foods & i absolutely love it :)

    Ongoing Event : WTML

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  8. I love bisi bele bhath !!! Simply delicious and yummy one !!!! Thanks for linking to the event !!!!! Appreciate it :)

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  9. The besi bele looks appetizing and delicious.

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  10. It has been ages since I had bisi bele bhath. I used to have it in the office canteen but I have never bothered to cook it in my kitchen. Bookmarked this. Thanks for sharing.

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  11. Yummy n healthy one pot meal,Had tasted but never tried at home...

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  12. You made it from scratch. I used to, but now I use MTR powder and add some extra ingredients. This post should motivate me to make it without instant aids.

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  13. Wholesome and Yummy bise bele bath.

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  14. bise bele bhat looks delicious..wonderful recipe dear..planning to make it soon..
    Spicy-Aroma

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  15. Comfort food,healthy and delicious.

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  16. Yummy comfort food.. Love your presentation.
    Thanks for linking it to the event.
    Divya's Culinary Journey
    My first event-Showcase

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  17. Delicious and wholesome one pot meal one of my favorite,looks tempting.

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  18. simple and yummy food .........

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  19. Lovely presentation and tasty rice of course :). Thx for linking.

    Vardhini
    CooksJoy

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  20. nice dish!.wonderful one dish meal.

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  21. bise bele bhat looks so healthy and yummy. Thanks for linking my event,.

    Cuisine Delights
    My Monthly Event - Spotlight : "Lunchbox Ideas".

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  22. Love this healthy and wholesome meal.

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  23. Hi Hema,
    This looks so delicious and healthy!

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  24. Hi Hema, how are you? I have been away for a week or so and feel like I missed out on so much. This rice looks yum, I have never had it but my husband loves it. Bookmarking this, will surprise him one of these days....bwt love the first photo, it looks out of a magazine :-)

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  25. My favorite rice and an yum one pot meal.

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  26. Really a well balanced one pot meal. It's a long time since I last tasted this. Shall try this sometime soon for sure. Thank you for sharing with Healthy Morsels - Pregnancy :)

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  27. rompa nalla irukku , lunch box adikadi seyvathu

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  28. Love the presentation! Absolutely stunning :)


    Send in your entries to my monthly series - Meal of the Month: April 2012 @ Chef Al dente

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  29. Yummy healthy and well balanced recipe...

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  30. Hema, your photography is awesome. I'm making this recipe on Thursday night!

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