Bise bele bhath

There is always been a debate in my house if it is Bise bele bhath or sambar rice? May be the term and ingredients are slightly different by region. It is a very traditional meal for kannadigas. After a countless trial I succeed with the recipe. Wonder why countless? Well my husband hails from Karnataka and I never tasted before this dish. Result I tried blindly all the recipes. I came across this recipe from Malika Badrinath cookbook (Biriyani Rice varieties –veg) and finally ended with the right taste, i guess :) No more critics about this dish so far. But I slightly changed according to my taste and find a tweak to really succeed it. Now, this dish is one of our favorites.

Ingredient:
Rice: 1 cup
Toor dhal: 1/2 cup
Tamarind: small lemon size
Pearl onion: ½ cup
Peas: 1/4 cup
Potatoes: 2
Carrot: 1
Hing: pinch
Turmeric: pinch
Salt according to your taste

Seasoning:
Cashew: few
Curry leaves: few leaves

Bise bele bath powder: Roast and grind the ingredients
Cinnamon stick: 1 small stick
Clove: 2
Methi (fenugreek) seeds: 1/4 tsp
Coriander seeds (danhia): 1 ½ tsp
Red chilies dry: 8 (I add 12 chilies and it is really hot :)
Urad dhal: 1/2 tsp
Chana dhal: 1 tbs
Khus khus (poppy seed): 1 tbs
Dry coconut: 1 ½ tbs (not to roast the dry one)



Method:
Cook the potatoes, carrot and diced it.
Pressure-cook the rice and dhal with 5-½ cup of water for 15 min in low flame.
Meantime, soak the tamarind and extract the juice.
In a pot add the tamarind juice, hing, turmeric and salt and let it boil until the raw smell disappears.
Now mix the ground masala powder and the cooked vegetables (potatoes, carrot, peas) water can be added if it is thick.
The real trick is: Pour the sauce little by little in rice and dhal mixture so you can adjust the taste of tamarind and spice.
For seasoning: heat 2 tbs of ghee: fry the cashews, pearl onion and some curry leaves and sprinkle over the rice.
Serve the rice piping hot with Potato chips and raita!