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BISI BELE BAATH

From scratch including the Bisi Bele Baath powder


Servings: 4
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup Rice sona masoori or any short grain rice
  • 3/4 cup Toor Dal Pigeon peas
  • 1/2 large Chayote Squash or Kohlrabi Knol kohl peeled, small diced
  • 1 large Carrot peeled, cut into 2″ long, 1 cm thick pieces
  • handful Green Beans ends removed and broken into 1″ pieces
  • 1/2 cup Double beans or Butter beans or green peas or a mix
  • 1/2 large Green Bell Pepper Capsicum, seeds removed and small diced
  • 1 small tomato diced
  • lemon sized seedless tamarind adjust as per taste
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1-2 tsp Rasam powder* home made or store-bought
  • 3 tbsp Bisi Bele Bath powder recipe follows
  • 2 tbsp grated dry coconut copra or desiccated coconut
  • 4 tsp peanut oil
  • salt to taste
for seasoning
  • 2 tbsp Ghee or peanut oil or a mix of both
  • 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1/8 tsp asafoetida or hing
  • 1/4 cup peanuts or cashews
  • 4 curry leaf stalks
for the Bisi Bele Bath Powder
  • 12 Dried red chillies – Byadagi
  • 4 Dried red chillies – Guntur
  • 2 tbsp Coriander seeds  dhania
  • 1-1/2 tsp bengal gram chana dal
  • 1 tsp black gram urad dal
  • 3 marathi moggu kapok buds
  • 2 cloves  lavang
  • 1 inch cinnamon piece chakke
  • 2 pods green cardamom elakki
  • 1/2 inch piece of mace javitri / jai patre
  • 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 1/4 tsp white poppy seeds  gasa gase or khus khus
  • 2 tbsp grated dry coconut copra /desiccated coconut
optional: If you don't want to use Rasam powder as listed above. Dry roast these as well
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/4 tsp whole black pepper
  • 3-4 curry leaves
Instructions
  1. Wash and soak tamarind in warm water for 10-15 mins. Skip this if using tamarind concentrate.
  2. Wash rice well until water runs clear, drain and let soak for 10-15 mins. Soaking ensures rice to be cooked soft. When soaked, wash lentils until water runs clear. Cook lentils with turmeric and double the amount of water and rice with 2.5 times water in the pressure cooker for 3 whistles. Put lentils in lowest container. Alternately, cook lentils and rice on stove top separately until well cooked.
  3. Meanwhile cook cut vegetables covered in a medium pot with just enough water. Add salt mid way and switch off when the vegetables are almost cooked but hold their shape well.
  4. Squish soaked tamarind (if using) to a pulp. Discard leftover seeds and fiber.
To make the Bisi Bele Baath Powder

  1. While veggies, rice and lentil cook, in a kadai / thick bottomed skillet over medium heat, dry roast all the ingredients listed for the Bisi Bele Baath spice mix except fenugreek, poppy seeds and dry coconut, until fragrant and lentils turn golden brown. Remove onto a plate. Reduce the heat to low and dry roast fenugreek seeds and poppy seeds until fenugreek seeds turn golden brown. This will happen fast, so pay attention. Pour onto the plate with the other roasted ingredients. Switch off and dry roast dry coconut in the retained heat of the skillet until golden brown. If you are not using Rasam powder as listed above, optionally dry roast mustard, cumin and black pepper until mustard and cumin crackle and curry leaves crisp up. Remove onto the same plate and let cool. When roasted ingredients are cooled, grind them to a powder in a coffee grinder or a mixer and set aside. Do not open the lid, to keep the fresh aroma of the ground spices intact.

  2. When cooker has cooled, whisk through the cooked lentils to mash well.
  3. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pot and sauté diced green bell pepper. Add salt, diced tomato, stir and cook covered until bell pepper is cooked. Add the cooked vegetables along with the water, mashed lentils, rasam powder, salt, tamarind pulp and bring to a boil. Add rice to this and keep stirring to make sure it doesn’t burn at the bottom. Add more warm water to adjust the consistency if required.
  4. Now add the freshly ground Bisi Bele Bath mix, stir well to break any lumps and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Check for taste and adjust tamarind, salt and spice mix. Switch off, sprinkle dry coconut on top and keep aside. Store the remaining Bisi Bele Bath mix in an airtight container.
  5. For the tempering (seasoning), heat ghee/oil in a small kadai or saucepan over high heat. When the oil is hot enough, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, reduce heat to medium, add peanuts and stir until they crackle and turn a light brown. Now add asafoetida (hing) and curry leaves and sauté until curry leaves are crumbly crisp. Pour the tempering over on the piping hot Bisi Bele Bath, cover immediately to preserve the aroma and keep aside.
  6. Serve hot drizzled with ghee and potato chips or Khara boondi on the side. Bisi Bele Bath tastes even better after several hours of making, which makes it a good candidate for a make-ahead meal.
Bisi Bele Baath shortcut method
  1. Heat oil/ghee in the pressure cooker over medium-high heat and follow seasoning steps. Strain the peanuts and curry leaves and keep aside. To the seasoning, add diced bell pepper and turmeric and sauté for a bit. Add the remaining veggies and sauté, add diced tomato, salt, washed lentils, washed rice and stir well until rice turns opaque. Add tamarind pulp, rasam mix, Bisi Bele Baath mix, 5 cups of water and give it a good stir. Shut the cooker closed and cook for 2 whistles. When cooker cools, serve hot Bisi Bele baath with the fried peanuts and curry leaves. The only downside to this is some of the aroma is lost in the pressure cooking.
Notes

Byadagi red chillies aren’t available in all the Indian grocery stores. Substitute for Byadagi – any high on color and mild in heat variety will do. 

For Guntur- any high on heat (usually low on color) variety will do.

For larger quantities, remember lentil : rice - 1.5 : 1 and rice to water ratio of 1: 4 or 5 Mace (Javithri) much like cloves is best appreciated in small quantities. Use it more and it can overpower the aroma and taste of the spice mix.

Some like to add potatoes. But, I’d rather not as potatoes tend to absorb all the spices, neutralize them and impart their raw earthy taste.

If you want to skip making the spice mix from scratch or don’t have the ingredients, store-bought MTR Bisi Bele Baath powder is good enough for instant gratification.

Marathi Moggu (Kapok Buds) are not available even in Indian grocery stores where I live, so I brought a small stash on my India visit. However, I recently found that they are sold online.

Before peeling Chayote squash, slice of the ends; rub the cut open end with the chopped slice until the white froth ceases. This takes away the bitterness, if any.

Store leftover Bisi Bele Baath mix in an airtight container either in the refrigerator or in the freezer to keep the aroma fresh.