Bisi Bela Bath

This is a Karnataka (kannada) dish which is eaten as a dish which is a mixture of rice, and dal with vegetables.

Ingredients:

1. Rice 1 cup
2. Tur Dal 3/4 cup
3. Vegetables *
4. Tamarind if paste 1 and half table spoon, otherwise take a lemon sized ball of tamarind
5. salt to taste.
6. oil for garnishing and frying
7. Ghee about 2 to 4 t spoons.
8. ground nuts about 2 to 3 table spoons.
9. mustard seeds , channa dal for garnishing and curry leaves for garnishing.

* Vegetables to use are ash gourd (Vella pooshanikkai) a small bit, bangalore kattarikkai half or one (squash), Beans 50 gms , Capsicum 1/2 , Carrots medium sized one. peas 100 gms. tomatoes 2 medium sized.

The above vegetables which ever is available can be used, but potato and onion, okra (ladies finger) , egg plants are normally not used. If drumsticks are available they can also be used.

For the bisi bela bath Masala.

1. channa dal 1 and 1/2 t spoons
2. coriander seeds 2 t spoons
3. urad dal 1 t spoon
4. red dried chillies 8 or 9
5. 1 small bit of cinnamon stick
6. jeera 1 t spoon
7. black pepper few seeds.
8. asafotida a small bit or 1/2 t spoon powder
9. copra or dried coconut grated 3 to 4 table spoon
10. oil for frying the ingredients

Method:

Fry grated coconut till light brown in a 'kadai' or a thick bottomed pan. keep aside.

with half t spoon of oil fry all the ingredients mentioned till the urad dal, and channa dal becomes golden brown.

grind the masala including the fried coconut into a powder. now add one cut tomato and grind this into a paste and keep it aside.

soak the tur dal for an hour or so and then cook the dal in a pressure cooker. keep aside.

cook the rice in the pressure cooker. keep aside.

cut the vegetables into small square pieces.

In a kadai pour little oil and fry the ground nuts and soak the fried ground nuts in water .keep aside.

In the same kadai pour 1 t spoon of oil, put mustard seeds and once it splutters add the curry leaves and then add the cut capsicum. fry a little bit and add all the other vegetables and fry for few minutes. Remove from kadai. (for taste one green chilli can also be fried along with capsicum)

Put the fried vegetables in the pressure cooker and add the tamarind paste mixed with 1/2 cup of water. (if tamarind is used take out the juice from the tamarind. For this it has to be soaked in hot water before you start the cooking process.)

add salt.

add the soaked ground nuts and cut and add one tomato.

pressure cook this.

Mixing:

Take a thick bottomed big vessel keep on the stove, add the cooked rice, cooked dal, the boiled vegetables, the ground masala paste and mix it well. In another kadai take 2 table spoons of oil and add mustard seeds, once it splutters, add 1 or 2 t spoons of channa dal and once brown pour this over the mixed rice . add the ghee also and mix well. once the whole rice is thoroughly mixed with vegetables and dal switch off the stove and serve hot.