Bisi Bele Bhaath/ Sambhar Rice

Bisi bele bhaath or Huliyanna as it’s called in Bangalore is a yummy one pot meal. The name literally means Hot Lentils Rice Dish in Kannada language. Bisi – hot, Bele – Lentils and Bhaath or Bath means “A Rice dish”. It doesn’t do justice to the tons of vegetables put into it though. We as a family got introduced to this yummy rice dish when we moved to Bangalore from North Canara. I don’t remember the first time I had it, but I loved the way my mom would make it.

Y’day was my birthday. So the previous night I went to bed, I took a deep breath and smelt “Bisi bele bath”!!!! LOL, for the first time it had happened! DH asked why in the world are you getting that smell. I knew exactly why! Every year for my birthday mom would make this, along with other favorites! So like magic I HAD to eat this. And with my hubby being from Mumbai he was not sure what this was, so I never made an effort to make it. So when mom called to wish yday I narrated her what happened. She is like the MAKE it. L. Yup, there was no other way, so I quickly jot down what she said. I made it for dinner last night. It was DELICIOUS! and satisfied my cravings. Also kids loved it. My little one who usually doesn’t care for veggies in her meal didn’t mind any. So jackpot! Wonder why I didn't try this before!

Here is my mom’s version of this classic meal.

Prep Time: 15 min| Cook Time: 30 min. | Serves:  4 ~ 6

Ingredients:

Toor Dal/ Pigeon Pea/ Thogari bele – 1 cup.

Rice – 1 ½ cup

Vegetables – (I used Beans, Peas, Carrots, Cauliflower, Tomato)

Ginger – lemon size

Sambaar Powder – 2 tbsp. (I used mom-made, you can use MTR)

Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp.

Tamarind extract – 1 tbsp.

Jaggery – 1 tbsp.

Ghee – 2 tbsp.

Olive Oil – 2 tbsp.

Salt to taste

Hing/ Asafetida – a pinch

Method of Preparation:

~ Wash and cut vegetables big bite sizes. Wash rice and dal in separate containers.

~ Pressure cook dal (in bottom pan) with some oil and turmeric powder.

~ Pressure cook vegetables in the top pan.

~ Prepare rice. (I usually make rice by removing starch. I did use same method to prepare my rice. But you can just prepare rice by your method)

~ After the pressure is released, in a wide big pan heat some oil. Add hing and then the mashed up dal.

~ Add sambaar powder, tamarind extract and jiggery. Bring everything to boil by continuously stirring to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom.

~ Now add the rice and mix it up well. Add boiled water as necessary to make it more watery.

~ Add salt for this mix and little more and then add the cooked vegetables.

~ Add ghee and stir it all in.

~ Serve hot topped with more ghee and chips.

~ I served it with a mixed green salad to bring down the heat. 

Notes:

~ I pressure cooked so it is quick. You can chose to cook them in the following method. First start by cooking lentils, when it’s half done, add the vegetables and lastly add the rice and cook them all together while checking on water. Add boiled hot water whenever needed.

~ Ghee is what is typically used. More the better actually. But I kept it to only 2 tbsp. and topped my kids plates with extra dollop.

~ Tangy taste is preferred, so add according to your taste.

~ When you add vegetables, add the cauliflower in the end so that you don’t mush it up.

Sharing this at Sravani's Dish For Loved Ones and Chandrani's Colorful Holi event