Bisi Bele Bath

Karnataka's one-pot rice and lentils with tamarind, roasted masala, and a ghee tempering of cashew and curry leaf

Origin: Mysore, Karnataka, South India

From the journey of Curry Leaf.

The name means hot lentil rice in Kannada, and it is Karnataka's contribution to the South Indian repertoire. Rice, toor dal, vegetables, and tamarind are cooked together into a single soft mass, seasoned with a roasted spice blend made specifically for the dish, and finished with a ghee tempering of cashews and curry leaves. It is not a pilau and is not trying to be. The grains are meant to lose their separateness and the whole thing to be spoonable, almost porridge-like, and a version in which the rice stands apart has missed the point. The masala is what distinguishes it. Bisi bele bath pudi is its own blend, roasted before grinding, and it carries coriander, dried chilli, chana and urad dal, cinnamon, clove, and, unusually, dried coconut and a little marathi moggu, the dried caper-like flower bud used almost nowhere outside Karnataka. Every household has its proportions. The dish is associated with the Mysore palace kitchens, where a version is said to have been developed, and it spread nationally through the Udupi restaurant movement of the twentieth century, which carried Karnataka's temple-vegetarian cooking to Bombay and from there across India. The curry leaf appears twice: in the roasted masala and again in the final ghee tempering, which is common in Karnataka and gives two distinct registers of the same leaf, one toasted and ground, one flash-fried and whole.

Ingredients

Base

200 g short-grain rice
150 g toor dal (split pigeon peas)
1 tsp ground turmeric
1.2 litres water

Vegetables

300 g mixed vegetables (carrot, beans, peas, potato), diced

Souring

30 g tamarind, soaked in 200 ml warm water

Masala

2 tbsp coriander seeds
6 whole dried red chillies
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tbsp urad dal
1 whole cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
0.5 tsp fenugreek seeds
3 tbsp desiccated or fresh grated coconut
1 sprig fresh curry leaves, for the masala

Seasoning

2 tsp jaggery, grated
2 tsp salt, or to taste

Tempering

60 g ghee
1 tsp black mustard seeds
40 g cashew nuts
2 sprigs fresh curry leaves
0.25 tsp asafoetida

Method

Dry-roast the masala ingredients separately in a pan over a medium heat: coriander and chillies first, then the dals until golden, then the whole spices, then the coconut and curry leaf briefly.
Cool completely and grind to a fine powder.
Cook the rice and toor dal together with the turmeric and the water until both are very soft, about 30 minutes in a pan or three whistles in a pressure cooker.
Meanwhile, boil the diced vegetables in salted water until just tender and drain.
Squeeze and strain the tamarind, then bring the tamarind water to the boil in a large pan with the jaggery and salt and cook for five minutes.
Stir in the ground masala and cook for a further three minutes.
Add the cooked rice and dal with the vegetables and mix thoroughly, adding hot water until it is loose and spoonable.
Simmer gently for five minutes, stirring often so it does not catch.
Heat the ghee in a small pan, fry the cashews until golden, then add the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop, then the asafoetida and curry leaves.
Pour the tempering over and serve hot with plain yoghurt, boondi, and pappadam.

Notes

Making the masala fresh is worth it and takes fifteen minutes. Shop-bought bisi bele bath pudi is widely sold and perfectly acceptable; use about four tablespoons. Marathi moggu, the dried Kapok bud, is the authentic Karnataka addition to the masala and hard to find outside Indian grocers. It is not essential. Short-grain rice such as sona masoori. Basmati stays separate and gives the wrong texture entirely. It thickens dramatically on standing and always needs loosening with hot water when reheated. Serve with plain yoghurt or raita, crisp boondi scattered over, pappadam, and a spoonful of extra ghee.

The Gastrographer

Name: Bisi Bele Bath
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: South India
Ingredients: 200 g short-grain rice; 150 g toor dal (split pigeon peas); 1 tsp ground turmeric; 1.2 litres water; 300 g mixed vegetables (carrot, beans, peas, potato), diced; 30 g tamarind, soaked in 200 ml warm water; 2 tbsp coriander seeds; 6 whole dried red chillies; 1 tbsp chana dal; 1 tbsp urad dal; 1 whole cinnamon stick; 4 whole cloves; 0.5 tsp fenugreek seeds; 3 tbsp desiccated or fresh grated coconut; 1 sprig fresh curry leaves, for the masala; 2 tsp jaggery, grated; 2 tsp salt, or to taste; 60 g ghee; 1 tsp black mustard seeds; 40 g cashew nuts; 2 sprigs fresh curry leaves; 0.25 tsp asafoetida

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control