Bisi bele bath is a spicy, tangy, rice-based dish from Karnataka. The name ‘Bisi bele bath’ is in kannada and it literally translates to ‘Hot lentil rice‘. This dish is usually a popular breakfast in karnataka but some prefer to eat for lunch too.

It’s a rich dish that has variety of vegetables, rice, lentil, tamarind, ghee, and masalas. Though the process of cooking this dish is slightly laborious, you will know that it’s worth it once you taste 🙂

Continue reading if you want to know step by step procedure of making bisi bele bath.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Serves: 3

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice(150g)
0.5 cup toor dal(75g)/Yellow split pea
4 cups water
4 tablespoons cooking oil
2 tablespoons peanuts
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
2-3 dried red chilli
Curry leaves
Asafoetida – a pinch
Tamarind – marble sized
1 onion – chopped
1 tomato – chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
2 tablespoons Bisi bele bath powder
1/2 cup beans
1/2 capsicum
3 small carrots
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 potato
1/2 ridge gourd
Coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Preparation:

Prepping:

1. Soak marble-sized tamarind in warm water for 15min until it becomes soft and releases juice. Then squeeze it and filter it into a bowl.
2. Wash white rice and yellow split pea thoroughly in cold water.
3. Wash all vegetables and chop them in required size (Preferably small)

Pressure Cooking:

1. In a pressure cooker, heat 4 tablespoons cooking oil on a medium flame.
2. Add peanuts and roast them until golden brown.
3. Then add mustard and red chilli. When mustard splutters, add curry leaves and asafoetida.

4. Add chopped onion and saute until it turns translucent.
5. Add in chopped tomatoes, & sprinkle salt on top of it.

6. Cook until tomatoes are soft and mushy.
7. Add in turmeric powder, red chilli powder, bisi bele bath powder and roast these masala powders for 30 seconds.

8. Now add tamarind juice, chopped vegetables and mix them well with the masala.

9. Add white rice and yellow split pea.

10. Now pour water into the cooker and mix everything well.

11. Cover the lid and pressure cook for 2 whistles.
12. Let the cooker depressurize and make sure that rice and dal are cooked soft.

13. Lastly, add chopped coriander leaves on top and mix.
14. Serve bisi bele bath adding a tablespoon of ghee on top of it and some spicy mixture.

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