Bisibelebath

In Bangalore, we enjoyed this Bisibelebath many times in Darshini. It would be in a semi solid state with lots of veggies in it served with a side of raita. Darshini style bisibelebath was too tastier for me, though it would not have more ghee and sometimes little watery too...This veggie bath would be more suitable on a cold, rainy day with a side of appalams / Pappads. My whole family likes this bisibelebath and so it would be seen in our kitchen more often. I have seen more versions of Bisibelebath since the day I started to prepare. But I stick on to one method which is easier for me..

Ingredients

Vegetables :
Fresh Peas or frozen Peas - 1 Big Handful
Potato - 1 Medium Size
Beans - 10 or 12
Carrot - 1 medium
Zuccini - 1 Big
Chayote / Chow Chow - 1 Small or 1/2 Big
Onion - 1 Medium
Ripe Tomato - 2

Ingredients for the Bisibelebath Powder

Channa Dal / kadalai Paruppu / Senaga Pappu - 2 tbsp
Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Coriander Seeds - 1.5 tbsp
Fenugreek Seeds / Vendhayam / Menthilu - 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Black Pepper - 1 tsp
Cloves / Lavang - 3
Cinnamon / Pattai - 1 Stick medium size
Dry Red Chillies - 5 or 6 Big Ones
Fresh Coconut - 1 tbsp
Khus Khus - 1 tbsp

Other Ingredients
Sona Masoori Rice - 1.5 Cups
Toor Dal - Between 1/2 and 3/4th of a cup
Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash
Turmeric Powder - 2 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Jaggery - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 2 tsp
Tamarind Juice - 1/2 thick

Tempering
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu / Minna Pappu - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 stick
Dry Red Chillies - 2

Method

1. Wash the rice and dal and add it into a  big pressure cooker.
2. Wash all the vegetables and cut it into desired shapes as you like and add it into the cooker.
3. Add little Hing / Asafoetida,turmeric powder, 2 tsp of salt into the mixture.
4. Add 6 cups of water into the cooker and cook the contents in the cooker for 4 whistles. Switch off the heat.
5. Meantime, fry the ingredients for the Bisibelebath powder to golden brown ( Not too brownish or black ) and grind them in a mixer grinder to a fine powder.
6. On a thick bottomed pan, add 1 tbsp of Olive Oil . When its heated, add Hing, Mustard seeds, Urad Dal, Jeera, Curry Leaves, Dry Red Chillies into it in order for tempering. When it sputters, add the grounded powder too into the pan, fry it for a minute and add the extracted tamarind juice and jaggery into it. Fry all of them for a minute.
7. Then, pour them over the Bisibelebath in the pressure cooker. Add required amount of salt to the Bisibelebath and mix everything in the pressure cooker nicely.
8. On a very low flame, add some more water to the Bisibelebath and allow it to be on heat for 3-4 minutes for the powder to get completely mixed and cooked with the bath.
9. Switch it off and add ghee on top of the Bisibelebath and serve this with raita and hot urad dal appalams/ Papads.

Variations

• You can add the onions, tomatoes into the tempering pan itself and fry them along with the grounded powder and then add them to the bisibelebath.
• You can add half green capsicum along with onions, tomatoes into the tempering pan. It adds more taste to the Bisibelebath definitely. As I don't have that vegetable now, I could not add it.
• You can add any type of vegetables like Brinjal, Drumstick, white pumpkin,etc., into the Bisibelebath. I have added the vegetables that I have at home.
• You can add groundnuts along with the vegetables into the Bisibelebath before cooking.
• You can decorate the bath with fried groundnuts, cashewnuts or boondi on top before serving.

Tips

• Don't cook the bisibelebath in the cooker into a fine, smooth paste. Because, after you add the powders, water at the end, the final cooking process will make it more pasty and you wont be able to see any rice separately.
• If you have small onions, try to make this Bisibelebath with the small onions. The Taste of the bisibelebath definitely gets upgraded with small onions, green capsicum, drumsticks and good bisibelebath powder.

Notes

In this process, I added all the vegetables at one shot into the cooker as I made it for the kids. If you are making the Bisibelebath for a Potluck / Party,  add small onions, tomatoes, green capsicum into the tempering pan. When they get mashed and fried, add the grounded powder , tamarind extract, jaggery and then fry and pour them over the Bisibelebath.