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Bisi Bele Bath

Bisi bele bath is a delicious rice and lentil stew from Karnataka that is delicious, filling and comforting.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Dinner, lunch
Cuisine Indian, South Indian, Southern Indian
Servings 8 servings

Equipment

  • 1 or 2 Pressure cookers
  • 1 Blender

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ cup Medium Grain White Rice like Sona Masoori
  • 1 cup Split Pigeon Lentils

Vegetables

  • 2 Chayote Squash peeled, pitted and diced
  • 2 Tomatoes washed and diced
  • 1 ½ cup Green Beans washed and cut in to ½" pieces
  • 1 ½ cup Carrots washed and diced
  • 1 cup Green Peas use fresh or frozen

For the ground masala paste

  • 10 Byadgi Dry red chillis
  • 3 tablespoon Split Chickpea Lentils
  • 3 tablespoon Coriander Seeds
  • 1 tablespoon Fenugreek Seeds
  • 1 Black Cardamom seeds removed from the pod
  • 1 inch Cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoon Dry Coconut(Kopare) around 20 g in wait
  • 1 tablespoon Avocado Oil sub with any neutral cooking oil
  • ½ cup Water

For tempering

  • 1 tablespoon Ghee
  • 1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
  • 2 Dry Red Chillis

Other ingredient

  • 2 ½ cup Water
  • 7 tablespoon Ghee substitute with sesame oil
  • 3 tablespoon Tamarind Paste
  • ¼ teaspoon Asafetida
  • ¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
  • 8 Curry Leaves
  • Salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Steam the chayote, green peas, green beans and carrots for 7-10 minutes to completely cook the vegetables. Make sure they don't become very mushy.
  • Cook the rice and lentils together in a pressure cooker. You can also cook the rice and lentils in the Instant Pot or on the stove top directly(details are in the notes below).
  • Heat a pan medium low and roast all the ingredients for the paste besides the dry coconut. When the split chickpea lentils are golden brown and almost done toasting, add the coconut and gently roast for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes. Add to a blender jar along with ½ to ¾ cup water and blend until smooth.
  • Bring 2 cups of water to a simmer and add the tamarind paste/juice, tomatoes, salt, turmeric, asafetida and curry leaves.Cook this broth for 5-7 minutes or until the tomatoes are softened . Now add the ground masala paste, 3-4 tablespoons of ghee and cook for another 10 minutes.
  • Add the cooked rice and lentils to the broth.Add another 2-3 tablespoons of ghee. Season with more salt and mix well. Finally add the steamed vegetables and mix well. Season again as required.
  • Heat a small pan and add 1-2 tablespoons of ghee. Once hot, add 2 teaspoon of mustard seeds and 2 red chillis each roughly torn in to two. Once the chilis get darker in color and the mustard seeds starts spluttering, wait for 5 seconds and take the pan off the stove. Pour this in to the pan with the bisi bele bath.Mix well and serve hot.

Notes

  1. Cooking the rice + lentils in the pressure cooker and Instant Pot
Rinse the rice well and place in the pressure cooker .For cooking in a pressure cooker, the ratio of water to rice + lentils is 2:1. Insert the gasket in to the lid of the pressure cooker and close it until completely secure and locked. Switch on the gas or electric stove. When you see some steam escaping from the nozzle on the top, place the "weight" on the valve. Let the cooker "whistle" or let the steam escape 3 times before turning off the stove.
Add the washed rice to the inner pot of the Instant Pot. For IP, the ratio of water to rice + lentils  is 2:1. Add water and c lose the lid. Turn the valve to "closed" position. Select the pressure cook option and set the time to 9 minutes. Once done, let the pressure release naturally.
2. Steaming the vegetables 
You can steam the vegetables in either an Instant Pot or over the stove top. 
3. If you don't want to use ghee, I would highly recommend substituting it with sesame oil. It is widely used in Southern Indian cooking and goes great with bisi bele bath as well. Else I would suggest using vegan butter or any neutral cooking oil. 
4. If you dont have access to Byadgi chillis, substitute regular dry red chillis. I would recommend using 5-6 depending on how hot your like your food. 
 
 
Keyword bisibelebath, karnataka, rice and lentils, rice dish, vegetarian