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    Home » Recipes » Variety Rice

    Bisi bele bath recipe, how to make bisibelebath

    January 23, 2017 by Raks Anand 25 Comments / Jump to Recipe

    Bisi bele bath recipe is a spicy, flavorful dish from Karnataka, prepared using rice, dal, vegetables and a special spice blend.

    bisi bele bath recipe
    Bisi bele bath

    While Sambar sadam is Tamil nadu style, this is Karnataka version.The name Bisi bele bath itself means hot lentil rice. One of the top favorite rice varieties.

    Jump to:
    • 🥘 Ingredients
    • Difference
    • 💭 Top tip
    • 📖 Variations
    • Related posts
    • Recipe card
    • 📸 Step by step

    I have tried bisi bele bath with a recipe from a cookbook I have. First time, it turned out with cinnamon flavor more. Even next attempt turned out the same. I thought, that’s how it is supposed to be.

    So after so many years, I tried this famous Karnataka special dish, as I got few requests from reader friends.

    And I know many of your search for this specific recipe in my blog. This time I am bit graduated to guess which should be added how much for a balanced flavor. So was so careful in adding those.

    Bisi bele bath recipe, Karnataka special dish
    Bisi Bele Bath - Bisi means Hot, Bele Bath means dal & rice mixture. So it's supposed to be had Bisi Bisi (hot hot!)

    🥘 Ingredients

    The recipe from the book I have calls for khus khus (kasakasa) which is banned here in Singapore. So I thought to skip khus khus (poppy seeds) and increase the dry coconut (copra).

    I don’t use kopra as well. So used desiccated coconut. I added more ingredients than that is in the book by adapting from here.

    I was really not sure until I finished making the dish. But when I tasted, it was really good and perfectly balanced. So after clicking the picture, I just hogged it hot!

    Just the way it is supposed to be enjoyed. The perfect side dish for this is onion raita and potato chips. So make sure about the availability.

    Difference

    Bisi Bele Bath is prepared in Karnataka while sambar sadam is Tamil nadu dish. The spices is different. Sambar sadam's doesn't use cinnamon, marathi moggu and clove. This is the main difference.

    So the flavor and out come is totally different though in some households in TN they say sambar sadam as Bisi Bele Bath.

    💭 Top tip

    • Soak dal for 10 mins in hot water or 30 mins in normal temperature. This way it is soft and mashes well.
    • Add few drops of sesame oil to help soften evenly.
    • I usually keep tamarind inside in separate bowl, while pressure cooking as shown in the picture (Step 1). This ensures easy extraction of juice.

    📖 Variations

    You can use green peas in place of avarekalu. Also, you can use tamarind paste available in shops in place of tamarind extract. Use 2 levelled teaspoon of tamarind paste for this recipe.

    You can use MTR bisi bele bath powder if you do not wish to grind your own.

    Related posts

    • Tomato bath
    • Vangi bath

    Recipe card

    bisibelebath-recipe
    Print Pin
    4.50 from 4 votes

    Bisi bele bath recipe

    Bisi bele bath recipe - bisi bele bath is a spicy, flavorful dish from Karnataka, prepared using rice, dal, vegetables and a special spice blend.
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Indian
    Prep Time 30 minutes
    Cook Time 30 minutes
    Servings 3
    Cup measurements

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup Raw rice heaped
    • ¼ cup Toor dal
    • 1 teaspoon Tamarind packed
    • 14 Small onion shallots
    • 1 Potato
    • ¼ cup Fresh peas I used mochai
    • ½ Carrot
    • ½ teaspoon Jaggery
    • ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
    • 1 tablespoon Ghee
    • 8 Cashew nuts

    To roast and powder

    • 5 Red chilli byadgi variety
    • 1.5 teaspoon Coriander seeds
    • ½ teaspoon Urad dal
    • 1 teaspoon Chana dal
    • ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
    • ¼ teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
    • ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds
    • ⅛ teaspoon Asafoetida
    • ½ inch Cinnamon
    • 1 Clove
    • 1 Marathi moggu
    • 1.5 tablespoon Dry coconut
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Soak rice, dal separately for 30 mins and pressure cook for 5 whistles in medium flame. I keep tamarind also in pressure cooker for easy extraction of juice.
    • Once done, mash them and extract tamarind juice with ¾ cup water.
    • Peel potato, carrot and cut into cubes. Boil these veggies with mochai (avarekalu/ field beans) in a cup of water until ¾th done. Gather the ingredients to be roasted ready.
    • Meanwhile, in ghee, fry cashew nuts until golden and keep aside for garnish.
    • In the same kadai, add red chilli, coriander seeds, urad dal, chana dal, asafoetida, cinnamon, clove, marathi moggu first.
    • Add cumin seeds lastly. give it a stir and add coconut. Roast until golden and cool down. Make sure to roast in low or medium flame to avoid burning.
    • Powder the roasted ingredients once cooled, into a fine powder.
    • In the same kadai, wipe the coconut and add ghee. fry small onions until transparent.
    • By now the veggies would have got cooked ¾th. Transfer sauteed onion to it.
    • Pour tamarind extract, add in turmeric, salt, jaggery.
    • Add powdered spices and mix well. Bring to boil. If it is too thick, you can add ½ cup more water.
    • Add cooked rice, dal, mashed well. Cook carefully in medium flame stirring well to avoid stuck/ burnt at the bottom. You can use any heavy bottomed vessel or even small pressure cooker.
    • Once the mixture heats up and bubbles (2-3 mins), add the fried cashews and switch off the flame.

    Video

    Notes

    • For perfect texture, make sure to add enough water while cooking rice and dal as well as in step 10. I use 1:3 water ratio for both rice and dal.
    • I had mochai in stock so added it. You can add fresh green peas or beans too in place of it.
    • I used byadgi chilli for color as well as it is what authentically used in bisibelebath. It looks bit shrunken and longer than the regular red chillies.
    • I used desiccated coconut in place of kopra.
    • Instead of cashewnuts, I see people using peanuts too for garnish.
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    📸 Step by step

    1. Soak rice, dal firstly in separate vessels for 30 mins and pressure cook for 5 whistles in medium flame.

    I keep tamarind also inside for easy extraction of juice. Once done, mash them and extract tamarind juice with ¾ cup water.

    pressure cook rice, dal & tamarind

    2. Meanwhile, peel potato, carrot and cut into cubes. Furthermore, boil these veggies with mochai (avarekalu/ field beans) in a cup of water until ¾th done. Gather the ingredients to be roasted ready.

    Ingredients for the recipe

    3. Next, fry cashew nuts in ghee until golden and keep aside for garnish. In the same kadai, add red chilli, coriander seeds, urad dal, chana dal, asafoetida, cinnamon, clove, marathi moggu first.

    roast cashews, spices

    4. Add cumin seeds lastly. give it a stir and add coconut. Roast until golden and cool down. Make sure to roast in low or medium flame to avoid burning.

    kopra

    5. Powder the roasted ingredients finely, once cooled.

    bisi bele bath powder

    6. In the same kadai, wipe the coconut and add ghee. fry small onions until transparent.

    saute onion soft

    7. By now the veggies would have got cooked ¾th. Transfer sauteed onion to it.

    cook vegetables

    8. Pour tamarind extract, add in turmeric, salt, jaggery.

    tamarind, jaggery, salt

    9. Add spice powder and mix well. Bring to boil. If it is too thick, you can add ½ cup more water.

    bisi bele bath powder

    10. Add rice, dal, mashed well. Mix carefully in medium flame stirring well to avoid stuck/ burnt at the bottom. You can use any heavy bottomed vessel or even small pressure cooker. Once the mixture heats up and bubbles (2-3 mins), add the fried cashews and switch off the flame.

    mix cooked rice - bisi bele bath ready

    Serve hot with onion raita, the best combo for bisibelebath along with some crispy potato chips. Enjoy hot!

    bisi bele bath
    Bisi bele bath

    More Variety Rice

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    • Kathal biryani recipe, Jackfruit biryani
    • Thengai paal sadam recipe, Coconut milk rice
    • Nellikai sadam | Amla rice recipe, Indian gooseberry rice

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. vidhya

      January 23, 2017 at 11:08 am

      Super Raks!! Mouthwatering!!

      Reply
    2. Raks anand

      January 23, 2017 at 12:13 pm

      Thank you 🙂

      Reply
    3. Swarna

      January 23, 2017 at 6:40 pm

      Yummy

      Reply
    4. Ani Paul

      January 24, 2017 at 5:03 am

      One of my favorite south Indian dishes,am surely going to try it now,thanks for sharing

      Reply
    5. Santhi Devi

      January 24, 2017 at 5:36 am

      Superb presentation
      Will definitely give a try

      Reply
    6. Manjushree Gururaj

      January 24, 2017 at 9:20 am

      I guess u missed the main ingredient......Capsicum.....this adds the flavour to the BBB......which should b added with onion...both fried in oil.....added at the end for authentic BBB.

      Reply
    7. Raks anand

      January 24, 2017 at 9:27 am

      Oh is it? Haven't heard about adding capsicum in BBB. Will sure try next time.

      Reply
    8. Raks anand

      January 24, 2017 at 9:27 am

      Let me know the result, thanks 🙂

      Reply
    9. Raks anand

      January 24, 2017 at 9:38 am

      Thank you, let me know how you liked it.

      Reply
    10. PRIDERA

      January 24, 2017 at 4:55 pm

      As Manjushree has pointed out, Capsicum adds a very distinct flavor, pls try it. Also the traditional method involves, cooking soaked rice in the Bisibelebhath container until 3/4th done. Then adding veggies / masala and bringing it all together for the right consistency. But the method you have suggested works as well.

      Reply
    11. BhuvanaVenkat

      January 27, 2017 at 2:05 pm

      Hi ,
      Thanks for ur inspiration...i made bisi bele bath just now. Tastes wonderful..thanks
      to u..i think Marthi mogu,pepper , jeera and dhania combination does the wonder..i also added a pinch of kasa kasa.
      I really admire ur cookery videos...easy to follow. Thank u once more..

      Reply
    12. Raks anand

      January 27, 2017 at 2:13 pm

      Thanks a lot, I too want to try once with kasakasa 🙂

      Reply
    13. Sasi Kala

      February 07, 2017 at 1:24 pm

      is it not required to temper with mustard .

      Reply
    14. Unknown

      February 07, 2017 at 1:24 pm

      You re just amazing mam:) congrtz for everythng 🙂 im a great fan of you;-)

      Reply
    15. Unknown

      February 07, 2017 at 1:24 pm

      I tried this today, turned finger licking good! It's my husband's favorite and he loved it. It was the best BBB I have ever made 🙂

      Reply
    16. Raks anand

      February 07, 2017 at 1:26 pm

      Thanks you for your feedback 🙂

      Reply
    17. Raks anand

      February 07, 2017 at 1:26 pm

      Thanks 🙂

      Reply
    18. Raks anand

      February 07, 2017 at 1:26 pm

      I did not try tempering. You can try, it will be nice

      Reply
    19. Isha

      October 19, 2017 at 10:17 am

      Lovely receipe.. from whr did u get tht transparent pot.. pls let me know.. thanks..

      Reply
    20. subasri gautham

      October 19, 2017 at 10:17 am

      Hi ... If using tamarind paste how much tsp to be added

      Reply
    21. Hansa Modha

      October 19, 2017 at 10:17 am

      I have tried to make thus rice couple times and now I know what I was doing wrong. I cooked the veggies added raw rice and dal and pressure cooked it. Dal and rice were not cooking because of tarmarind . I see you cook veggies and rice separately and then combine it. I used Sambhar powder as short cut.

      Reply
    22. Visalakshikarthikeyan

      July 27, 2021 at 5:52 pm

      4 stars
      Tried your recipe. Came out well. True..... perfect blend of flavours & spices.Thank u Raji.

      Reply
      • Raks Anand

        July 28, 2021 at 11:01 pm

        Thank you so much 🙂

        Reply
    23. janaki

      May 22, 2022 at 7:13 am

      5 stars
      Thank you so much for the recipe...

      Reply
      • Raks Anand

        June 07, 2022 at 2:45 pm

        Thank you 🙂

        Reply

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    Raks anand

    Hi, I'm Rajeswari Vijayanand! I am the person behind Rakskitchen, sharing recipes with pictures & videos.

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    Raks anand

    Hi, I'm Rajeswari Vijayanand! I am the person behind Rakskitchen, sharing recipes with pictures & videos.

    More about me →

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