Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Bisibelebath

Hi there.......I know I know, it's been ages since I updated my blog. I'm guilty and won't give you any more excuses. Infact....I'll get right to the recipes rather than boring you with my talk. Sorry again.

Another Karnataka favourite....Bisibelebath (BBB). There are a lot of recipes out there for BBB. Store bought powders are good but preparing fresh powder brings out the intense flavors of all the spices used and the taste is heavenly. This is my mother-in-law's recipe and an all-time favorite in our family. I guarantee you will be pleased with yourself when you prepare this dish. You'll see it's not that a big deal to make BBB too. Come on in and we'll gather all the ingredients....

Serves 4:
Toor Dal -> 1 cup
Rice -> 1/2 cup
(Sona Masoori or regular kind, not basmathi)
Mixed Diced vegetables -> 2-3 cups ( more the veggies,the healthier)
( Beans, Carrots, Potato, Capsicum/green pepper, Onion, Chow-chow/chayote, Knol-kohl/kohlrabi)
Dry Copra or dry coconut -> 1/4 cup grated

STEP 1
Take a big vessel and add about 2 Tbs of oil, washed toor dal, a pinch of turmeric and 6 cups of water. Boil till the toor dal is almost done. This will take about 1/2 an hour. Toor dal can also be pressure cooked but make sure it's not overcooked. While the dal is getting cooked , step 2 can be prepared.


STEP 2 - BBB powder ingredients:
Channa dal/ Kadlebele -> 2 tsp heaped (i normally use the white plastic disposable spoon)
Urad dal/uddinbele -> 1 tsp heaped
Dalchini/cinnamom bark/ chakke -> 6-8 half inch pieces
Lavang/ cloves/lavanga -> 5-6
Elaichi/Cardamom/yelakki -> 2
Methi seeds/ menthya -> about 8 seeds
Dhania seeds/ coriander seeds -> 1/4 cup
Dry red chillies -> about 10 depending upon spice consumed
Curry leaves -> a few sprigs



Take a drop of ghee/clarified butter and fry all the above dry ingredients in the same order....dals first and once they turn reddish-brown, the others follow. Fry till a nice aroma picks up. Cool and powder it.

STEP 3
Wash and drain the rice and add to the boiled dal along with the mixed diced vegetables. Add water such that the vegetables are just immersed and boil. When the rice is half done, add salt and dry copra. Mix in about 1/2 tsp of tamarind paste and stir well. By now the consistency should have picked up to a semi solid state.


STEP 4
Add water to the BBB powder from step 2 and make it into a paste. This avoids the powder getting clumped. If powder is added directly to the boiling mixture, clumps form and the powder dosen't get mixed in well.


STEP 5 - Bringing it all together:
Mix in the BBB powder paste to the step 3 mixture and check for salt. Make sure the BBB is a little watery otherwise it will become hard when it cools. Switch off the stove after a single boil. Season with mustard seeds, Asafoetida/heeng and curry leaves. Enjoy with a dollop of ghee and potato chips or papad.

57 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Saakshi,
Very mouthwatering and looks delicious. My mom makes best BBB. I have tried to make so many time but never looked or tasted good. Thank you so much for the step by step pics and recipe. Will try and let you know soon.

Anonymous said...

Picture looks amazing... I'm just surprised that Dal is more than rice in your recipe; I use either 1:1 or use 1 rice and 1/2 dal.
Will surely try out your version.

Anonymous said...

Hi Saakshi, My fav bisibele bhath! Thank you so much, I was thinking of making some and here it is. Good job!!

saakshi said...

Thanks Madhu, Hope this tastes just like what your mom makes.

saakshi said...

Hi anon,
I personally feel more dal tastes good. But again....there are different versions which taste different. Try this out and let me know. Good luck.

Anonymous said...

Hi Saakshi,
It was a hit. I made powder using your recipe. I tasted very goood. Can I say better than my mom's. Thanks again

saakshi said...

Hi Madhu.....credit goes to my mother-in-law. She taught me this . I'm glad you liked it.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

My neighbour back in India makes the best bisi bele bath, reading your recipe reminds me of BBB that i had back in Bnagalore.

The powder is the most important, i have never tried making it at home, always use the MTR powder. I have also come across people say that they use another ingredient called "marathi moggu" in making the powder and that adds great taste.

Will try out your recipe.

Thanks,
Swapna

Anonymous said...

Hi,
This is my first time onur blog. Absolutely luv BBB! My ma-in-law also makes the masala from scratch and the result is mouthwatering! Thank u for sharing this recipe and with wonderful pix and instructions.

Anonymous said...

hi saakshi,
i m ashwini from bangalore n me too hebbar iyengar living in Mountain view...ur BBB lokks yummy...i tried it last time n it dint come out well...will try ur receipe

saakshi said...

Hey Ashwini,
Gr8 to know that ur an iyengar too! We shud probably meet up sometime since ur close by. Unde number mail pann, naan phone panre and gokulastmi annikki arathi pannkyondikkre, so knandithma va. Am celebrating on fri the 15th and saturday the 16th sept. Will be nice if u can make it.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Vaishali said...

That's such a detailed post, Saakshi. Your recipe for BBB Masala looks interesting to me. I too will try it out, but maybe with less coriander seeds like Nandita.

Krithika said...

Your BBB looks delicious !! Will definitely try your version.

FH said...

Hi sangeetha! I was looking for BBB and got this!! Thank you for sharing!! I will try shortly!!

Anonymous said...

Sakshi,
Just wanted to let u know that I tried this out for lunch today...and I love, love, love it. Thx for this recipe. Iam sure I'll use it several times in the future.

saakshi said...

Hey Jayashree,
I'm glad you liked the BBB. I feel so nice sharing it with all of you.

Anonymous said...

Hello,

I am from Banglore & u know how dear to the heart is BBB. :-)
Thank you for the recipe .. I did try it yesterday, but my powder after I grinded was brown in color, where as your was red , is this becoz of the red chilles ? Also you said 1/4 cup of coriander seeds-dhania, is this is tea cup ?
The recipe turned out great, this will be a usual at my table from now onwards...Thanks, but I felt dhania was a bit more... Thank you every much. ARuna

saakshi said...

Hi Aruna,
Glad that you liked my recipe. I normally use the electric rice cooker cup for measurement. A lot of people have told me that the quantity of dhania is more but personally in my family we like the flavor and hence the quantity. Also the color totally depends on the byadgi chilly. Thanks again for visiting my blog.

saakshi said...

Hi Aruna,
Glad that you liked my recipe. I normally use the electric rice cooker cup for measurement. A lot of people have told me that the quantity of dhania is more but personally in my family we like the flavor and hence the quantity. Also the color totally depends on the byadgi chilly. Thanks again for visiting my blog.

Anonymous said...

Hi Saakshi... I am a Bangalorian and have been badly wanting to eat good BBB ever since I arrived here in US almost a year ago. I decided to use your recipe and make it today no matter what. I followed most of your recipe with very few exceptions and the end result was fantastic. I was reminded of the BBB served in MTR which I so much love! And your BBB powder which gives the authentic taste absolutely rocks! Thanks for making my day! - Sonia

Anonymous said...

To the list of ingradient add some (about half a tea spoon) gus gus (Opium) while frying. It will taste great.

mommyof2 said...

just curious, why not basmati rice? Actually thats the only I have at home;-)

Anonymous said...

Hi Saakshi,
I love BBB and always wanted to try making it at home...am dying to try out your recepie.Just wanted to ask if the BBB masala stores well..would it work if made extra and stored for the next time i want to make it...

Thanks a ton,
Shilpa

Anonymous said...

Hi there,
Thanks to google, I came across your recipe. I made it for lunch today and it turned out amazing. Very flavorful and delicious. This is my maiden attempt at BBB and I am definitely happy with the end result. I just made few modifications like (1) reduced spice level - used 5 chillies. (2) olive oil instead of ghee and (3) no coconut.
Thanks much for an awesome recipe.

Anonymous said...

Hi Saakshi

First lemme thank u for an mouthwaterin ausum recipe,,

I have tasted Bisibelebath like twice or thrice and I just hated it coz it tasted soo badly,, so I stopped preparing it. But after seeing ur recipe and comments for it, I thout i should try this one and I tried and it came out perfectly as never before.

Good job. Keep posting ausum recipes.

Once again thank you.

Anonymous said...

Great Blog.. Loved ur recipes with so much detail... Keep up the great work ! Bisibelebath tindu bahala kushi aagtide ! :)

Brinda said...

Hi Saakshi
I cooked BBB for my party using ur recipe and everyone simply loved it. Thank you very much

Unknown said...

Hi Saakshi,

My Besibelabath used to be very average till I saw your recipe. Your recipe is awesome. I tried it on Sunday, wow!!! it was very delicious. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.

-Harini

Unknown said...

Hello!
I tried your BBB recipe yesterday and it totally rocked! Being a Bangalorean, it's one of my all-time favourites! Thanks for the recipe!

Unknown said...

Hello!
I tried your BBB recipe yesterday and it totally rocks! I'm a Bangalorean and this is one of my all-time favourites! Thanks so much for the recipe!

Vijaya said...

Hi Saakshi,

I live in Singapore and mostly cook Tamil Iyengar cuisine at home.

After three failed attempts to get "THE" BBB taste (my husband - a born foodie, is my best critique, having grown on BBB for two years while at the IIMs), I finally sought to research on the most appealing recipe of BBB, which would probably give me the most authentic taste.

After having patiently flipped through recipes on four pages of 'google', I came across yours and aren't I glad!!

I got the ISI stamp :) for my BBB and I must thank you and your mother-in-law for this. Of course, I told that to my husband too!

Your pictures were a great help and your ingredient proportions, suited for four servings are just ideal for the modern-day nuclear family and of course, served my purpose too!

I have a suggestion, though, the plastic disposable spoon, I think does not exactly match-up to a tea-spoon, it is a little more than that. For me, it came to half a table-spoon (I use the proper industrial quality measuring cups and spoons). Again the size of a disposable spoon would also vary. So, I would suggest that in your future recipes, you could probably give the exact measure.

The BBB powder smelt really good once it was done.

Thank you once again for this awesome recipe. It's going into my recipe book asap!

Best Regards,
Vijaya Venkatesh.

Unknown said...

Hi Sangeetha,
Thank you for your recipe and the time you have spent on writing this for us.

Bisibelabath came out very well. It was really very tasty! The way you have presented the recipe is very user friendly.

Thanks

Siva, Bangalore

nime said...

Hi Saakshi,
Thanks for posting such a wonderful recipe... after reading all the comments i surely wants to try this ASAP...
will let you know about my success story soon :-) .....

Anonymous said...

Hi Saakshi,
Your recipe helped us cook the most delicious BBB that I have ever eaten!
The time and patience with which you took the measurements and put them together as a nice recipe is beyond any appreciations!
Thanks a lot!

Guru said...

Am a student here in US. Thanks to you. I tried this recipe and it came out well !!

Latha said...

Hi Saakshi,

I tried this version of BBB and very satisfied. Thanks to you and your mil:) I reduced the quantity of dhania but I think it would have tasted better with your proportion. I normally grind the kopra along with spices but this was a different taste. This is for keeps...

Chinns said...

Hi Saakshi,
I tried your Bisibelebath recipe and was just AWESOME.
It was very authentic and out of this world!
Thanks a lot lady!
(Only change I made to your recipe is that, I did not add elachi)

Anonymous said...

Hey ... Thanks for the recipe. I really liked the pics that u have used..& ur Step by Step Explanation was very helpfull!!!Keep Up the good work

viditha said...

i tried the recipe , it turned out very well, my husband liked it too. One question i had was, after grinding the paste did not look as red as it looked in ur picture...i used the exact same measurements mentioned in the recipe. I wonder what i was missing...

Anonymous said...

Absolutely fantastic!!
No ready-made bisibele bath powder can beat this taste.
People are surprised to find a guy cooking Bisibele Bath...that too without the ready-made mix.

Thank a lot Sakshi!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi , i am SAIRAM from Andhra and Studied in CBPUR, I love this DISH BBB.
Question: What si KOPRA? Please one you can tell me what is this?

We just made with out it, I dont know how much taste we are missing with KOPRA

saakshi said...

Hi Sairam,

Glad that BBB turned out great. By the way Kopra is nothing but dry coconut, i don't know Telugu, but i think it's dry tenkayalu. Sorry if I pronounced it wrong. Every ingredient is versatile and I bet dry coconut will give the BBB a special taste, so try it next time.

Cheers,
Sangeetha.

Anonymous said...

Hi I tried ur BBB.It was very good yummy.Oh what to say other than that.They shud try and see then only they will understnad.

Anonymous said...

I tried BBB for 1st time with your receipe and it came out very good.
thanks saakshi
I added ur blog to my favorites.
I will surely try your other receipes.

cheers,
Geetha

Anonymous said...

Hi Saakshi, thanks for saving my day! The recipe resulted in a great lunch for the family. (Omitted the kopra and the ghee and it still came out well; also did reduce cinnamon and dhania a little to suit the kids). Appreciate you taking the time to post your special recipe and great pictures! Keep it coming!

RB said...

Wonderful!! It tasted just like my aunty's BBB.. :P

Keep adding more recipes!! :)

Thank you

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I tried your receipe and turned out really well. My husband liked a lot. Thanks,

Anonymous said...

Hi Saakshi,

I am Naveen. Thanks for the recipe!!! I am still an novice in cooking and wanted to cook BBB for my roomies, this recipe helped me alot and my roomies liked the BBB very much!

Unknown said...

Simply Awesome. I made this BBB few mins back and it turned out simply good. I have tried BBB almost10 times but never came out perfect. Thanks a tonnes and Hats off to your mom in law.

Anonymous said...

Hi Saakshi,
Thanks for ur recipe,it came out very good.

Anonymous said...

Hi Saakshi,

Your recipe is really delicious. I have learnt the recipe from many people before. But your recipe has onions and it certainly added to the taste.

Satya said...

Hi sakshi,
I am a student in Singapore & was looking for a bisibelebath recipe & ur is truly the best!! :)
i have just prepared it & m gonna taste it in a while! it has come out really well, though!
keep up the good work!
for students like me abroad, ur blogs take us a lil' closer to home! Thanks!! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi I am Daksha, it sounds very much like my mums receipe, she has her own/eye measurements which are difficult to follow. my question is, table spoon is bigger right? holds about 5mls of water? thanks for the receipe.

the Deciple said...

Hi Saakshi,

The recipe was great. I tried it today with small customizing to my taste and it came out well. Thanks.

Unknown said...

Thanks a lot. I love Bisibelebath and couldn't believe it's so easy and even a novice like me could make it. It was fabulous. Thanks again
Balaji

Anonymous said...

hi, my name is Usha. I tried your BBB now. it came out delicious. my Husband just loved it. Thank u so much. Usha