Bisi-Bele-Bhath

Bisi bele bhath is a famous rice-based dish Karnataka. Bisi-bele-bhath translates to hot-lentil-rice in the Kannada language. It is also known as Bisi bele huliyanna. The preparation of this dish is quite elaborate, involving preparation of spice powder. The spices used, contribute to the unique flavor and taste of this dish. It is served hot along with boondi or potato chips.

The best place to savor this dish in Bangalore is MTR or Mavalli Tiffin Room. However, the MTR branded ready-to-eats are nothing great to be bragged about. So is the spice powder - it is best when prepared fresh.

Here’s my MIL’s recipe for BBB. She makes wonderfully tasty BBB, which can easily compete with the MTR BBB :)

Bisi Bele Bhath

Preparation time : 15 min Cooking time : 25 min Serves : 5-6 Ingredients: Rice - 2 cups Tur Dal - 1 ½ cups Chopped Vegetables (Beans, Carrot, Potato, Onion, peas) - together 2 cups, all chopped into ½” pcs Salt - 1 tsp Coconut - 1 ½ Tbsp, grated - fresh or dry Tamarind pulp - 1 Tbsp, adjust acc to taste Jaggery - 1 big marble sized ball Oil - ½ Tbsp Butter - ½ Tbsp, optional Turmeric - 1 pinch Salt - 1 tsp, adjust acc to taste For the powder: Chana dal - 2 tsp Urad dal - 2 tsp Dry red chilies - 8-10 Cinnamon - 1” stick Coriander seeds - 2 tsp Cloves - 5-6 Maratha Moggu - 2 Cardamon - 2 Poppy seeds - 2 tsp Curry leaves - 2 sprigs For tempering:Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Groundnut seeds - 1 tbsp Curry leaves - 2-3 strands Red chilies - 1 Turmeric - 1 pinch Method: For BBB powder: • Dry roast all the ingredients • Allow to cool for 5 minutes • Grind them into slightly coarse powder • This can be made in larger quantity and preserved for a couple of months Bisi Bele Bath:• Pressure cook dal and vegetables with a pinch of turmeric in sufficient water • Cook rice separately • Mix the cooked rice into the cooked dal and vegetable pan • Add tamarind pulp, salt, jaggery, BBB powder and bring to boil • Add grated coconut and mix thoroughly • Stir in between. Adjust the amount of water as per required consistency. • After boiling well for about 10 minutes, turn off the flame and add butter and mix Tempering: • Heat oil in a pan • Add mustard seeds and allow to sputter • Turn the heat low, add groundnut seeds, and stir • After the groundnuts are half-done, add curry leaves and red chili pieces and stir for half a minute till all the ingredients are properly roasted. Keep aside till needed • Mix the tempering to the BBB just before serving to retain the crispness of the groundnuts Tips n Tricks: • Do not make rice too mushy mushy • Make the BBB a little watery. It absorbs the water and gets thickened after sometime. Variations: • An onion can be sautéed and added along with the tempering • An alternate method is to add all the raw ingredients and pressure cook the entire mixture at one go. However, my preference is the elaborate method.

Kattina Saru - Plain Lentil Rasam

When it comes to simple comfort food, kattina saru / simple lentil rasam tops the list. A very mild spiced, yet tasty and very healthy, this one is a preferred choice for us for lunch on days we’ve had a heavy breakfast. Being very simple to make, it is a good choice for us to cook too. The spices give a subtle flavor and taste, while a correct blend of salt and jaggery and pepper make it tasty.

Kattina Saru

Preparation time : None Cooking time : 15 min Serves : 4 Ingredients: Tur Dal - 1 cup Green chili - 1 or 2 Turmeric - a big pinch Coconut milk - 1 Tbsp Jaggery - 1 small pinch Salt - ¾ tsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig Coriander leaves - 1 sprig For tempering: Ghee - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Black pepper - ½ tsp Asafetida/hing - 1 pinch Method: • Cook tur dal with 2-3 cups of water, one green chili and turmeric in pressure cooker for 1-2 whistles • Once the pressure releases, bring it to boil again • Add salt, coconut milk, and jaggery. • Add curry leaves and coriander leaves for flavor. Let it boil for 5-10 minutes. • Adjust water to get a thin, rasam-like consistency For tempering: • Make a coarse powder of black pepper and cumin seeds • Heat ghee in a small skillet • Add mustard seeds and allow to splutter • Add cumin, pepper, hing • Mix it to the rasam just before serving • Serve piping hot with hot rice and ghee Variations: • Juice of a lemon can be if you like a sour taste

Strawberry Milkshake

Strawberries are back! What a treat these little red fruits are! I am a big fan of strawberries and especially love it with ice cream and cream served at Corner house - an ice cream parlor in Bangalore. Well, I know that will be too heavy on my diet but strawberries are not something that I can miss. So, a glassful of milkshake with strawberries is something that I make do with, as it is healthy and not so heavy as ice cream and cream!Little niece Hima, also loves it. Whenever I bring home strawberries, she knows I’m gonna make milkshake with it, and she jumps up in joy!

Strawberry Milkshake

Preparation time : 10 min Serves : 4 Ingredients: Strawberries - 14-15 Chilled Milk - 3 ½ glasses Sugar - 4-5 Tsp, depending on taste Strawberry / Vanilla Ice cream - 2 scoops (optional) Method: • Wash and chop strawberries into halves or quarters • Blend it in a mixie or blender with sugar and some milk • Add milk, blend it well, to make the milk frothy • Pour it into serving glasses • Add half a scoop of ice cream to each glass and serve. Variations: • Ice cream can be substituted with fresh cream. It can be omitted if you are too health conscious • Some strawberry sauce can also be added over