Bisibelebhath

B for Bisibelebhath ~ BM#15

If I am given a chance to pick my last meal on earth, I would go either with a plate of bisibelebhath or poori - saagu. :) Those two dishes are my absolute favorites and I love them that much. It was an unwritten rule in our home while I was growing up that bisibelebhath had to be a part of my birthday meal. Now I prepare it at least once or twice in a month but surprisingly, it hasn't been featured yet here even after five years of blogging. And so it's time for the bhath recipe now.

Most of the Indians (particularly bloggers) don't need an introduction to bisibelebhath / bisibelehulianna / BBB since it tops the list when one thinks about Karnataka cuisine. The rice- lentil- vegetable mixture is leisurely cooked and then goes in the fresh spice mixture which gives the BBB it's characteristic, special flavor.
If you are looking for other variations, check these posts.
Brown Rice Bisibelehulianna
Cracked Wheat Bisibele Huli
Poha Bisibelehuli
Quinoa Bisibelehuli

Nomenclature:
The words Bisi-Bele-Bhath literally translates the essence of the dish in a nutshell.
1. Bisi literally means hot in Kannada. The heat referred is in terms of the temperature and not the spice level. (The syllable "Bi" is pronounced as in the word "Bin" while "Si" as in the word "Sin".) 
2. Bhath (not bath) refers to the cooked rice in Hindi and some other Indian languages. Bhath is a term generally used for rice dishes.
3. Now coming to the middle part of the name. I have seen many bloggers who are not familiar with Kannada getting stumped here. I have seen even spellings like bella and billa. :) Though not phonetically correct, somehow the accepted spelling is "Bele". Now the syllable "be" is prounounced as "bay". It is difficult to explain non Indians how to pronounce the syllable le in the word BBB. Le is pronounced as "lay". (Actually English language doesn't have the la sound used here. You kind of roll out your tongue and say it). Here, the la used is the one that comes after the Indian alphabet "ha". Hope it is not too confusing. Now bele refers to the lentils used in the dish.
Bisibelebhath so literally means hot rice - lentil mixture.

Ingredients used:
1. Coming to choice of rice, sona masuri / long grain rice is preferred. Basmati rice is strictly "No". Usually the rice and lentils are used in 2:1 ratio.
2. Beans, potatoes, peas, carrot and chayote are the vegetables commonly used in BBB preparation. Onions and garlic are not used. I have seen bisibelebhath recipes online using okra, eggplants, tindora, drumsticks and even beetroots. They may be good choices for sambhar rice preparation but are definitely weird choices if you are looking for a traditional version of bisibelebhath.
3. Commercial brand spice mix may be used for a short cut version but those including MTRs don't stand a chance before homemade spice mix.

Cooking method:
A pressure cooker may be a time saver but I prefer to cook it in a pot leisurely. It takes around 40 - 45 minutes including the prep time and it is totally worth it. This delicious dish definitely deserves that kind of attention. My mother would take out her large brass pot from the attic to cook BBB but I use a non stick pot so that the rice wouldn't stick to the bottom. Go with a thick bottomed pot or a non stick one and cook leisurely so that you end up with a perfect textured and right flavored bhath.
Some even cook dal and vegetables together and add it to the rice that has been cooked separately.

Ingredients:
1 cup rice
1/2 cup lentils / toordal
3 cups chopped vegetables (I used about 20 green beans cut into one inch pieces, 2 carrots, 2 small sized potatoes, 1 small chayote, a handful of frozen peas and 3 plum tomatoes. I added frozen peas at the final stages of cooking.)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt as needed
1 - 2 Tbsp tamarind puree
To toast and grind:
2 Tbsp chana dal / split yellow peas, 1 Tbsp urad dal / split, skinned black gram, 1 Tbsp coriander seeds, 15 - 20 dried red chillies, 2 one inch pieces of cinnamon, 6 maratha moggu, 2 cloves and 2 - 3 Tbsp grated, dry coconut
For tadka:
2 -3 Tbsp ghee (Be generous with the quantity if you wish.), 2 tsp of mustard seeds, a handful of cashews and curry leaves

Method:
* Wash toor dal and rice individually in two exchanges of water and keep aside.
* Add toor dal, turmeric and about 6 cups of water to a non stick pot and bring to boil. Cook on high flame for about 10 minutes.
* In the meanwhile, prepare the veggies. Chop chayote and potatoes into big cubes to avoid them turning into a mush.  
* After lentils are cooked for about 10 minutes, add veggies and rice to the pot and continue to cook. Keep stirring in between and cook until rice and lentils are done. Add extra water as needed. (4 more cups of water may be needed.)
* While the lentil - rice mixture is being cooked, toast the ingredients mentioned under "to toast and grind". You may add a tsp of oil to toast but I usually avoid it. First add chana dal and start toasting. When it starts to change color, add the other ingredients and toast until both chanadal and urad dal turns light brown. Cool the ingredients and powder them along with coconut.
*Add this spice powder, salt and tamarind to the rice - lentil mixture and simmer for about five minutes and turn off the stove.
* Heat ghee in small pan and add the tadka ingredients. When cashews turn golden brown and mustard seeds start to pop, turn off the stove and add it to the cooked bhath and mix well.
* Serve warm with boondi / papad.

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