Bisi Bele Bhaat (BBB) is the default dish for a big function like weddings in South Karnataka. It is a crowd favourite dish and made for most festivals and grand celebrations. It is a thick rice and lentils dish with loads of vegetables, fragrant spices and topped with cashews and groundnuts. Very filling and super tasty, generally served with masala corn flakes, potato chips and mixed raitha. Use freshly made masala and your BBB will be a hit. BBB is probably one of those dishes which people like it best when homemade rather than hotel style. Not many restaurants serve good bisi bele bhaat. So, why not try making it at home.
There are quite a few steps, keeping everything organized makes it easy without making you feel overwhelmed. Make dry BBB masala previous day or first thing before starting bisi bele bhaat. I have learnt this recipe from many people each with their own proportions for masala but credit has to go to my friend’s mother who gave me her handwritten recipe which I tried with some variations. Enjoy!
- 1 Cup raw rice/sona masuri
- ⅔ Cup toor dal/togari bele/ split pigeon pea
- ¼ Cup BBB Masala
- ½ Cup packed grated coconut
- 2 ripe tomatoes
- 3 Tbsp desi ghee
- 12-15 cashews broken
- ¼ Cup groundnuts
- 1 small lemon sized tamarind soaked in water or 1 Tbsp tamarind extract/imli/hunase
- 1 small lemon sized jaggery/gur/bella
- 1 Tsp mustard/rai/saasuve
- 7-8 curry leaves
- A pinch of hing/ingu/asafoetida
- ½ Tsp turmeric/haldi
- ½ Tsp red chilli powder
- Salt to taste
- Chopped coriander to garnish
- 1" chopped 2 medium sized carrots
- 1" 100-120 Gm or 15-18 chopped green beans
- 1 Cup diced capsicum
- 1 Cup shelled green peas
- ¼ Cup fried gram/huri gadale/kadale pappu/sukha chana
- 2 Tbsp desiccated coconut/kobri/copra
- ½ Tbsp khus-khus/gasa-gase/poppy seeds
- Clean, wash and boil toor dal till soft. Mash and keep aside
- Meanwhile, wash and cook rice with 1:3 or 1:4 rice:water proportion. It should not be mushy or hard, let it be just right like you are mixing it with sambar/huLi/kolambu
- Boil tomatoes in a pan of hot water till their peels come off. Set them aside to cool
- In another pan, boil carrots and beans till just cooked and soft. Again, do not make them mushy. Add shelled green peas. Cover and turn off heat. Keep it covered till they are required. Residual heat will cook the peas
- If BBB masala is ready, grind it with grated coconut and water into a paste. Else, make the masala at this step. Use the recipe given here, the amount of masala given in recipe is enough for rice-dal-veg proportions mentioned here
- In a pan, dry roast gasa-gase/khus-khus/poppy seeds till lightly fragrant. Add copra/desiccated coconut. Turn off heat. Dry grind this with fried gram/huri gadale into a powder
- Use the same pan, heat ½ a Tbsp of ghee, add broken cashews and fry till golden. Keep aside
- In same pan, heat ½ Tbsp of ghee, fry groundnuts till crunchy and their skin slightly changes colour
- In a big pan, heat 1 Tbsp of ghee, add mustard and let them splutter. Add hing and curry leaves, fry till crisp
- Add diced capsicum and saute till soft. Keep aside
- In a thick bottomed vessel, bring the cooked and mashed dal back to heat. Add turmeric
- Add the boiled vegetables. Mix well
- Add ground masala. Mix well. Adjust water if it becomes very thick by adding around ¼ Cup. Check and a little more if needed
- Add jaggery, tamarind paste/pulp and salt to taste. Mix well
- Squeeze in the boiled tomatoes, pulp, peels and everything with clean hands or just mash with a spoon and add. Make sure there are not very big chunks of tomatoes. Mix well
- Add red chilli powder. Mix again
- Add in cooked rice. Do not add very hot rice. Break it up as you add it. Mix, mix, mix
- Add the dry masala ingredients, copra + khus-khus + chana mixture. Mix
- Add capsicum sauteed with curry leaves and mustard tadka
- Add ghee roasted cashews and groundnuts(keep a few for garnish). Mix again!
- Add the last Tbsp of ghee
- Add in some chopped coriander. This is the final mixing
- Serve hot, with masala corn flakes, potato chips and mixed vegetable raitha. Do not forget to add some ghee on top!
Grated coconut gives thickness and body to the masala. Use coconut for masala and not desiccated for flavour and smoothness
BBB tastes best when kept for a few hours. Try making early morning for an afternoon lunch and it stays warm. Heat it up before serving
Do not make bisi bele bhaat very thick, it absorbs a lot of water as it sits. Keep it nice and mixed and not very dry. If it does become thick and dry, add a little water, mix and heat gently till hot
Do not keep anything on high flame to avoid a burnt taste of either ghee or dal or anything for that matter. Control the flame and heat as necessary
If pressure cooking dal and rice, cook them separately. Dal needs more time and number of whistles to make it soft and mashable
Stepwise:
Preparation:
Clean, wash and boil toor dal till soft. Mash and keep aside
Meanwhile, wash and cook rice with 1:3 or 1:4 rice:water proportion. It should not be mushy or hard, let it be just right like you are mixing it with sambar/huLi/kolambu
Boil tomatoes in a pan of hot water till their peels come off. Set them aside to cool
In another pan, boil carrots and beans till just cooked and soft. Again, do not make them mushy. Add shelled green peas. Cover and turn off heat. Keep it covered till they are required. Residual heat will cook the peas
If BBB masala is ready, grind it with grated coconut and water into a paste. Else, make the masala at this step. Use the recipe given here, the amount of masala given in recipe is enough for rice-dal-veg proportions mentioned here
In a pan, dry roast gasa-gase/khus-khus/poppy seeds till lightly fragrant. Add copra/desiccated coconut. Turn off heat. Dry grind this with fried gram/huri gadale into a powder
Use the same pan, heat 1/2 a Tbsp of ghee, add broken cashews and fry till golden. Keep aside
In same pan, heat 1/2 Tbsp of ghee, fry groundnuts till crunchy and their skin slightly changes colour
In a big pan, heat 1 Tbsp of ghee, add mustard and let them splutter. Add hing and curry leaves, fry till crisp
Add diced capsicum and saute till soft. Keep aside
Making BBB (bringing it all together):
In a thick bottomed vessel, bring the cooked and mashed dal back to heat. Add turmeric
Add the boiled vegetables. Mix well
Add ground masala. Mix well. Adjust water if it becomes very thick by adding around 1/4 Cup. Check and a little more if needed
Add jaggery, tamarind paste/pulp and salt to taste. Mix well
Squeeze in the boiled tomatoes, pulp, peels and everything with clean hands or just mash with a spoon and add. Make sure there are not very big chunks of tomatoes. Mix well
Add red chilli powder. Mix again
Add in cooked rice. Do not add very hot rice. Break it up as you add it. Mix, mix, mix
Add the dry masala ingredients, copra + khus-khus + chana mixture. Mix
Add capsicum sauteed with curry leaves and mustard tadka
Add ghee roasted cashews and groundnuts(keep a few for garnish). Mix again!
Add the last Tbsp of ghee
Add in some chopped coriander. This is the final mixing
Serve hot, with masala corn flakes, potato chips and mixed vegetable raitha. Do not forget to add some ghee on top!