Bisibelabath is one of those dishes which bring back the fond memories of my carefree childhood. My mom who by the way is an excellent cook used to ask me what I would like for dinner and my answer has been mostly bisibelabath. There is something about the lentils, vegetables and rice mixed together to form a gravy consistency. I considered it one of the luxurious and tedious items but my mom always whipped it up in a jiffy. Miss those good old days.
This is one wholesome and healthy dish as it combines the goodness of lentils and vegetables. Lets start preparing this yummy rice.
Ingredients
1 cup Rice
1/2 cup Toor dal
1/2 medium Onion
1 Tomato
Vegetables of choice
Lemon size tamarind soaked in water and juice extracted
2 teaspoon Oil
1/2 teaspoon Mustard
Pinch of turmeric
Ghee (Optional)
Salt
To roast and grind
4 teaspoon Coriander seeds
2 teaspoon Channa dal
8 Red chillies
1/4 teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
Asafoetida
Method
1. Cook the toor dal along with turmeric in a pressure cooker. Cook the rice separately. Dry roast the ingredients mentioned under “roast and grind”. Take care not to burn the fenugreek.
2. Allow to cool and grind in mixie.
3. Chop the vegetables into bite sized pieces. I used potato, carrot, beans, zucchini and turnip.
4. Heat oil in a pan and when it is hot add mustard. Let it splutter. Add the onions. Saute for a few minutes until the onions are translucent. Next add the tomatoes. Saute for a minute. Then add all the vegetables. Pour 3 cups of water. Now add the ground powder and salt.
5. Let the mixture boil for 10 minutes until vegetables are tender. Now add the tamarind juice. Let it boil for 5 minutes so that the raw smell of tamarind is gone. Finally add the cooked and mashed toor dal. Boil for 5 more minutes.
6. Now the sambar is ready and has to be mixed with rice. Mash the rice and start mixing the sambar to it until the desired consistency is obtained.. Ghee can be added for additional flavor but it is optional.
7. Another picture of today’s wholesome meal with potato fry, papad and some lemon pickle.
Enjoy!
The first pic was updated on 4/20/2013.
Tips
1. This rice can be fixed in a jiffy if we have the masala powder on hand. So whenever this rice is made make more of the masala powder and store in an airtight container.
2. Mix the rice as soon as possible. Otherwise we might end up with lumps in the rice and it will also be difficult to mash the rice.