Prepare Bisibelebath (a Tasty South Indian Dish)

Bisibelebath (be-see-bay-lay-bath) is a rice, lentil, and vegetable main dish from South India. Most people who taste it for the first time seem to love it, so give it a try!

Preparation Time : 60 - 75 Minutes Difficulty : Intermediate

Ingredients

Raw Rice- 2 cups Thoor dal- 1 cup Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp Asafoetida- ¼ tsp Peas- ½ cup Shallots- ½ cup Tomatoes-2 cut finely Carrot -1 chopped into small pieces Beans- 10 chopped finely Potatoes-1 chopped into small pieces Drumsticks- 1 cut into 3” pieces Brinjal – 1 cut into cubes. Chowchow- ¼ cup cut into cubes Garlic- 6 cloves Green chillies- 3 These are the main veggies. U can add any vegetable u want to this except beets and bittergourd.The more the vegetables the better the taste. I added bottlegourd too with this. Sambar powder- 1 tsp(optional. As I use very little red chilies ,I add this for better colour.I use sakthi masala) Tamarind – 1 small lemon sized. Salt to taste Ghee- 5 tsp Coriander leaves- 3 tsp chopped

To roast and grind

Channa dal- 2 tsp Thoor Dal – 1 tsp Urad dal- 1 tsp Coriander seeds- 3 tsp Jeera- 1 ½ tsp Pepper- ½ tsp Fenugreek seeds- ½ tsp Saunf/Aniseeds- ½ tsp Curry leaves- a few Red chillies- 3( the one I have is very spicy so I add little) or acc to taste Cinnamon- 2 one inch pieces Cloves- 5 Coconut- 3 to 4 tsp

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add all the spices except coconut and fry for 2 minutes. Then add coconut finally and fry for a minute. Cool it and grind it to a fine paste by adding water.

For seasoning

Oil- 3 tsp Mustard seeds- ½ tps Broken urad dal- ¼ tsp Fenugreek seeds- ¼ tsp Curry leaves- a few

Method

Pressure cook the dal with turmeric powder and asafetida and set aside. Soak the tamarind in water and squeeze the juice. In a cooker or big vessel, add 10 cups of water(1:5 ratio) . when it boils add the rice and the vegetables(from peas to green chillies). When the rice is ¾ th cooked. Add the dal and salt.mix properly and add the ground paste , tamarind juice, sambarpowder and ghee. Partly Cover and cook for a few minutes in reduced flame.Heat oil in another pan and add the seasonings one by one. Now add this to the rice. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with raita and papad/chips and ghee on top. This bisi bela bhath should be in a slightly semisolid consistency than the normal rice.

[edit] Tips

Don't overheat and get your dish charred.
It might not come out well the first time. Try it twice or thrice, and you'll be a master of Bisibelebath (or BBB for short).
You can vary the quantities and try it out.