01
Bisi Bele Baath
With Rice
BISI BELE BAATH - TRANSLATING TO HOT LENTIL RICE IN KANNADA.
Rice, dal and vegetables cooked together in a pot, with tamarind and bisi bele baath powder, finished with ghee.
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AMMAMMA'S NOTES.
Onion
2
Ash gourd
Rice
1 cup
Tur dal
1/2 cup
Red chillies
4
Asafetida
1/4 spoon
Daniya
4 spoon
Chana dal
2 spoon
Methi
1/4 spoon
Cinnamon
3 small pieces
Coconut
4 tablespoons
Oil
4 tablespoons
Mustard
1 spoon
Curry leaves
a few
Kabuli chana
little (optional)
Coriander leaves
a few
Pumpkin
cut pieces
Carrot
cut pieces
Beans
cut pieces
Brinjal
cut pieces
01
In a cooker, cook the rice and tur dal together with 4 cups of water, for 4 whistles.
02
In a pan, add 1 spoon oil, red chillies, daniya, chana dal, methi, cinnamon, and asafetida; fry for 2 minutes, then add the coconut and fry a little more. After a few minutes, switch off the stove and grind this roasted mix into a masala in a mixie.
03
In a pan, add 3 spoons oil and the mustard. Once it splutters, add the cut onions, and when they turn golden, add the cut vegetables and fry for a while.
04
Take an orange-size ball of tamarind, add hot water, and squeeze out the pulp. Add this tamarind pulp, along with turmeric and salt. Let it boil and cook till the vegetables are done.
05
Add the cooked rice-dal mixture and the cooked kabuli chana. Let everything boil for 5 minutes — it should stay a little watery.
06
Remove from the fire and finish with curry leaves and coriander.
Pulav with Bread
Basmati rice cooked with vegetables in a ground coconut masala, topped with fried bread pieces.
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Sambar
Sambar - a Tamil tamarind-based lentil and vegetable stew.
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BISI BELE BAATH AND I ALWAYS SHARED A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP — I HATED IT FOR THE NUMBER OF VEGETABLES BUT LOVED IT FOR ITS WARMTH. THERE WAS ONLY ONE SOLUTION: AMMAMMA WOULD SERVE IT SLOWLY, MAKING SURE NO VEGETABLES (ESPECIALLY CAPSICUM) LANDED ON MY PLATE, AND THAT THERE WERE LAYS CHIPS OR MASALA BOONDI TO DROWN IT ENTIRELY.
YAMINI VENKATESAN
WHAT'S FOR LUNCH, 2026