Bisibele Bhath

About Bisibele Bhath

Ingredients

• Split pigeon peas (toor /arhar dal), soaked for 15 minutes 1 cup
• Rice 2 cups
• Mixed vegetables (potatoes, French beans, green peas, onions, carrots), diced and boiled with turmeric powder and salt 3 cups
• Oil 2 tbsps
• Mustard seeds 1 tsp
• Curry leaves 1 sprig
• Turmeric powder 1 tsp
• Tamarind paste 1 tbsp
• Fresh coconut, scraped 2 tbsps
• Bisibele bhath masala powder
• Cinnamon 3 one-inch sticks
• Black peppercorns 1 tsp
• Dried red chillies 6
• Cloves 8
• Green cardamom 1
• Coriander seeds ¼ cup
• Split Bengal gram (chana dal) 3 tbsps
• Asafoetida 1 pinch
• Nutmeg powde 1 pinch

How to Make Bisibele Bhath (Stepwise Photos)

Method

1. Drain and pressure cook pigeon peas with 2 cups water till 3 whistles are given out. Drain and pressure cook rice with 4 cups water till 3 whistles are given out.
2. To make bisibele bhath powder, dry roast cinnamon sticks, black peppercorns, dried red chillies, cloves, green cardamom, coriander seeds and split Bengal gram in a non-stick pan till fragrant.
3. Add asafoetida and nutmeg powder and roast for 1 minute. Set aside to cool down. Transfer into a grinder jar and grind into a fine powder.
4. Heat oil in a large non-stick pan, add mustard seeds and curry leaves and saute till the seeds splutter. Add cooked dal and mixed vegetables. Add 2 tbsps spice powder, turmeric powder, tamarind paste and coconut and mix well. Add salt and some water if necessary. The consistency of the dal mixture should be like sambhar.
5. Add rice and mix. Add water if required, mix well and add ghee. Simmer on low heat for 5-10 minutes till the mixture starts bubbling.
6. Transfer into a serving bowl and serve hot or at room temperature.

Additional Tips and Tricks

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CHEF PRANAV JOSHI

Host of the show Budget Kitchen.

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Chaitrali Deshmukh

Thank you for the amazing instructions.

I have success w/ my dosa but does not last long stored in the refrigerator.

Maybe I am fermenting for too long, or add the salt before the rise?

I also was wondering if it is important to blend separately or can it be blended all together?

Reply

Chef Saransh Goila

Hi Chaitrali,
Yes, cut down the fermentation time and add salt only to the required portion at the time of making the dosa. Also storing in smaller containers just enough for a day helps. Once the batter in a larger container is disturbed (by stirring or scooping out a little etc), I feel it turns sour faster. You can blend them together if you want. But we do it separately because we want the dal batter to become fluffy and the rice batter slightly coarse. Fluffy dal batter makes the dosas light and coarse rice batter makes them extra crispy without making the dosas hard. Hope this helps