Bisi Bele Bath

Bisi Bele Bath is one of the traditional dish from the state of Karnataka made from rice, dal and vegetables cooked in spices. This dish is quite addictive served piping hot topped with ghee and accompanied with potato chips, kara boondi or mixture.
Rice and dal are cooked and then added to the cooked vegetables along with spices, tamarind pulp and cooked to combine all the flavors and lastly seasoned. Vegetables that can be added to this dish are carrot, french beans, cauliflower, potato, green peas, knol khol, chayote squash(chow chow), capsicum, pearl onions.

Ingredients :

• Rice - 1 cup
• Toor Dal - 1/2 cup
• Vegetables :
• Cauliflower Florets - 1 cup
• Carrot chopped - 1/2 cup
• Beans chopped - 1/2 cup
• Potato chopped - 1/2 cup
• Green Peas - 1/2 cup
• Capsicum - 1
• Onion - 2
• Tomato - 2
• Tamarind Paste - 2 tbsp
• Bisi Bele Bath Powder - 3tbsp
• Jaggery - 2 tbsp
• Grated Dry Coconut  1/2 cup
• Salt to taste
• For Seasoning :
• Oil - 4 tbsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad Dal - 3tbsp
• Curry Leaves - 3 sprig
• Red Chili - 5
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Method :

• Wash and cook rice and toor dal in a pressure cooker. Cook them together or even separately.
• If you don't have tamarind paste, then soak 1 tbsp tamarind in hot water for 15 mins and extract the pulp.
• In a deep thick bottomed pan add 3 to 4 cups of water and let it come to boil.
• Add cleaned and chopped vegetables and let it cook.
• When vegetables are half cooked add cubed capsicum, tomatoes and thick sliced onions. Let them cook till they are soft.
• In a bowl take tamarind paste or extracted tamarind pulp. To this add bisi bele bath powder and mix with out any lumps. Add this mixture to the cooked vegetables along with salt and jaggery.
• Add cooked rice, dal and grated coconut. Mix everything well and let it cook on medium low flame till raw aroma of tamarind goes away and all the flavors get combined. Adjust water for desired consistency.
• Once done switch off the flame and keep it aside.
• In another pan or tempering pan heat oil. 
• Add in mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add urad dal and fry till they are crisp.
• Temper with curry leaves, red chili and asafoetida. 
• Pour the tempering into the bisi bele bath. Stir and cover with lid for tempering to infuse into the dish.
• Serve hot bisi bele bath with potato chips and kara boondi. If you prefer, top with a bit of ghee.