These days I am trying to post as many masala powders as possible. With experience, I have found the home made masala powders are always better than the ready made ones. Also, Indian store being very far from my place, I can only go there once in a while and whenever I go there, I forget to buy some masalas .

I tasted bisi bele bhath in Bangalore for the first time. Though I was not a big fan of it, I absolutely loved it when I prepared it at home. I had used the ready made masala for it. But I prefer the home made one now. I got this recipe from one of the recipe books.

Ingredients: 1 tbl spn coriander seeds 7-8 red chillies 1 tea spn chana dal 1 tea spn urad dal 1/4 tea spn fenugreek seeds 1/4 tea spn asafoetida 1/2 cup grated coconut 1 tea spn garam masala Oil 1 tea spn

Method: Heat oil and fry the ingredients one by one (if everything is fried at once, some spices get burnt and some do not fry at all. So fry them one by one. Garam masala need not be fried). Grind all the fried masalas and garam masala to a smooth powder. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

Here is the recipe for bisi bele bhath

Bisi bele bhath - 1

Bangalore, the IT capital of India, is a place where you can find all types of food from all over India. It may be because people from all over India come to Bangalore in search of jobs. So along with all other types of food, the Bangaloreans have their set of dishes which are very very famous. The most famous dishes being ‘ Chitranna ‘ and ‘ Bisi bele bhath ‘ (‘ Bisi ‘-hot, ‘ beLe ‘-lentil, ‘ bhath ‘-rice item. Bangalorians call it ‘bath’ instead of ‘ bhath ‘). One other thing I have observed about food in Bangalore is all their dishes are very easy and fast to prepare.

Though I was not a big fan of bisi beLe bhath available in hotels, I liked to try them always. The one which I loved the most was with poha. My friend Poornima used to bring this in her lunch box. This version of bhath is softer than the version with rice.

Bisi bele bhath masala - 2

Bisi beLe bhath (with poha/avalakki)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup poha/avalakki
  • 3/4 cup toor daal
  • 10 cups water
  • 1/2 tea spn tamarind extract
  • 2 tea spns Bisi bele bhath masala
  • 1 tea spn jaggery optional
  • 1/2 tea spn mustard seeds
  • 2 tea spns oil/ghee
  • A pinch asafoetida
  • 4-5 curry leaves
  • 1/2 cup onion pieces
  • A pinch turmeric
  • 1/2 cup tomato
  • 3/4 cup vegetables carrot, potato, beans
  • 2 strands coriander leaves
  • Salt

Instructions

  • Heat approximately 8 cups of water.
  • When it starts boiling, add toor daal and a pinch of turmeric.
  • When daal is cooked, add vegetables (except onion and tomato).
  • Cook till vegetables are done.
  • Add washed poha.
  • Cook for 2-3mins.
  • Add bisi beLe bhath powder, tamarind (mixed with remaining two cups of water), jaggery and salt. Cook till almost all water is absorbed (the bhath should not become too dry, so stop when it is in semi solid state).
  • In a separate pan, heat ghee/oil (ghee tastes better), add mustard.
  • When they start popping, add curry leaves and asafoetida.
  • Add onions and fry till they turn slightly brownish.
  • Now add tomato and fry till they become slightly soft.
  • Add this mixture to bhath and mix well.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves.
  • Serve hot.

Notes