Exactly ten years ago in the year 2002 I had eaten Bisi Bele Bhaath at my elder sister’s house in Hassan, Karnataka.
Well, I did eat Bisi Bele Bhaath many times after that. At restaurants, some relative’s house and even I tried preparing it many times…
To get to the point…
The Bisi Bele Bhaath prepared by my sister Tejaswini was sooooo good that whenever I ate the dish after that I was reminded of the bhaath I had eaten at her house.
Ten years is a long time… but the taste stayed with me 
I couldn’t forget the aroma of freshly ground Bisi bele bhaath masala that she had prepared…
So finally, last week when I visited her she was all set to prepare the dish. And I was all prepared with my camera and a book and pen…
Hmmm… I did note down the recipe in detail and clicked a few photos too…
So here goes the recipe in the exact manner that she prepared it:
First she made the Masala:
She took a small pan/kadai and lightly roasted 2-3 tspns whole dhaniya (coriander), 1 tspn chana dal (Bengal gram) and 1 spn udad dal( black gram) in 1 spoon oil and kept it aside.
She then roasted ½ spn methi (fenugreek) and 1 ½ spns jeera (cumin) in 1 tspn oil…set it aside
Next she took 4-5 lavang (cloves), ½ pc star anise (chakri phool), 1 pc dalchini(cinnamon), 4-5 kalamiri (black pepper )and roasted it with ½ spn oil and set it aside.
After this she roasted 10 whole red chillies ( not the spicy variety) in 1 spn oil.
Finally when I was starting to wonder what and all was still left to roast though I was enjoying the aroma of the roasted spices…she said “Now last we will roast 1 cup grated dry copra ( dry coconut).
She mentioned that one could use ½ cup freshly grated coconut and ½ cup grated dry coconut also.
She lightly roasted the grated coconut and she ground the entire assortment of roasted spices (above) with a little water in the mixer grinder.
So the masala was ready and the entire house permeated with the aroma of roast and ground spices…
Next she took :
2 potatoes ( cut in cubes) 3 navilkosu/knol khol/kolhrabi ( cut in cubes), 2 carrots medium ( cut in half roundels), 1 capsicum( sliced lengthwise), 3 onions ( roughly sliced), 1 cup shelled green peas, 10 -15 french beans sliced lengthwise ( 1 inch long), 2 tomatoes chopped finely.
She soaked a small ball (size of half a small lemon) of tamarind in warm water.
She took a large pressure cooker and added 3-4 tbspns of oil to it.
She added 1 spn rai (mustard), few curry leaves.
After it all spluttered she added the sliced onions and a pinch of turmeric to it.
After a minute or so she added the sliced capsicums and beans.
Next she added the potato cubes and navilkosu cubes, carrots and the green peas
She mixed the veggies nicely and added two chopped tomatoes, tamarind pulp and the ground masala…
And the aroma was hmmmm…out of this world!
She washed 1 ½ small cups of rice and ½ cup ( please use the same cup) of tuvar dal.
She added it to the veggies in the cooker.
Mixed it thoroughly, added salt to taste and 1 tbspn ghee. Last she added 6 cups of water. ( cup used to measure rice and dal)
She then put the lid on the cooker and we all waited eagerly for the cooker to whistle :)
After the cooker had whistled thrice she switched off the gas.
We had to wait a good fifteen minutes before the cooker cooled and we could lift the whistle and open the cooker.
The Bisi bele bhaath looked absolutely delicious and I spooned a big ladle full onto my plate. Ummm…It tasted the same…perfect blend of Indian spices with the right assortment of veggies and the rice and dal…
You must try it. This recipe does not fit into my express cooking but at times we all need to adjust and spare some extra time for some special dishes…
And this one happens to be one of them…
Try it…though the procedure seems tedious…it is not!
And when you taste it you will agree that the effort and the time spent was worth it.
The above recipe serves six adults.
Has to be served with chopped cashews roasted in ghee and some onion and tomato rings…
Oh! I almost forgot…plain potato chips/spicy boondi and curds go well with the dish.
It is a full meal by itself!
Check this :
