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Bisi Bele Bhath

Bisibele Bhath
Bisi Bele Bhath is a soul dish of Karnataka, and prepared during all festive occasions too as its a one pot satisfying healthy meal. The science of creating perfect flavor to Bisi Bele Bhath, comes from the precise selection of spices, dry roasted and then crushed to fine powder. The important spice, called Kapok Buds, the Marathi Moggu, lends a perfect authentic flavor to this Bisi Bele Bhath. This Classic Bisi Bele Bhath should be creamy in consistency and during the cooking process do check for the water content.

 Veggetables for Bisi Bele Bhath

Ingredients for Bisi Bele Bhath Powder:

1. Bengal gram / Channa dal - 1 tsp.
2. Black gram / Urad dal - 3/4th tsp.
3. Coriander seeds - 3 tsp.
4. Red normal dry chilies - 10 no.
5. Byadige Chilies - 5 no. (another form of Red dry chilies, which are of less spice and different in taste)
6. Cinnamon / Chakke - 1/2 inch
7. Cloves / Lavanga- 4 to 5 no.
8. Poppy seeds / Khus Khus - 1 tsp.
9. Kapok Buds / Marati Moggu - 2 piece (important spice in Bisi Bele Bhath to get the authentic taste)
10. Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1/4th tsp.
11. Dry grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Dry roast all the ingredients one by one in the order given in the ingredients and in a gap of 1/2 minute. Powder them finely and the Bisi Bele Bhath Powder is ready to be used for preparing Bisi Bele Bhath. The powder can be stored in a air-tight container and can be used whenever required in preparing this dish.

Bisi Bele Bhath Spice Powder
Ingredients for Bisi Bele Bhath:

1. Rice - 1 1/2 cups
2. Pigeon Pea / Red gram / Tur Dal - 1 1/4 cup 
3. Tomatoes - 3 to 4 no.
4. Onions - 2 no. (preferably shallots)
5. Carrot - 1 no.
6. French beans - 6 to 7 no.
7. Potato - 2 no.
8. Fresh / Frozen green peas - 1/2 cup (can substitute with Avarekaalu, the Hyacinth Bean, during the beans season)
9. Knolkhol / Nookal / Kohlrabi - 1 no.
10. Capsicum - 1 no.
11. Raw groundnuts - 1/4th cup
12. Tamarind - lemon size
13. Turmeric - 1/2 tsp.

For Tempering:

1. Mustard seeds - 2 tsp.
2. Red chilies - 2 to 3 no.
3. Asafoetida / Hing- a pinch
4. Curry leaves - few
5. Oil - 4 to 5 tbsp.

Cooking Method:

1. Clean the rice and tur dal and soak them in water for sometime. In a big deep bottomed vessel, heat 8 cups of water and when the water starts boiling add the tur dal, turmeric and 1 tsp of oil and cook them covered until tender. 

2. In the meanwhile pressure cook rice with equal amount of water till 2 whistles. Simultaneously chop all the vegetables finely cook them (except capsicum) with 1 cup of water until tender and keep aside. Also soak the tamarind in little water and keep aside for later use.

2. Once the dal is tender cooked, add cooked rice, cooked vegetables and give it a stir, adding the Bisi Bele Bhath Powder, groundnuts and salt. 

3. In a pan, heal 1 tsp of oil, fry the onions followed by tomatoes and capsicum, and add it the dal and rice. Keep the flame low - medium. Make sure enough water is there for all the ingredients to well combine (otherwise some warm water can be added)

4. Now extract the tamarind water cook them in the pan to release the raw flavor and then add it to the dal and rice mix.

5. Finally temper the Bisi Bele Bhath. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. Once this splutters, add asafoetida, red chilies and curry leaves and pour this in the Bisi Bele Bhath. Bisi Bele Bhath is ready to relish by garnishing them with some chips or spicy savory (khara Boondi) and topped with some ghee or clarified butter for the authentic taste.