Bisibele Bath / Bisibele Huli

This is a very famous Kannada dish and I am sure most of us will love this delicious recipe of Karnataka.

Popularly referred to as Bisibela Bath / Bisibele Bath by the Iyers & Iyengars and as Bisibele Huli by the Madhwas.

Ingredients:

1.       Rice: 1 cup (180 to 200 g)

2.       Toor Dal: ½ cup

3.       Tamarind extract from Lemon sized ball by adding 400 ml water

4.       Salt

5.       Ghee: 4 tbsps

6.       Vegetables: (2 Carrots vertically sliced as that in Avial, Beans: 10 Numbers  - cut as that in Avial, Small Onions: 5 to 6, Green Peas: 20 gms)

7.       Curry and Coriander leaves

8.       Jaggery: 1 tbsp

9.       Oil: 1 tsp

10.   Mustard: 1 tsp

11.   Asafoedita: a pinch

12.   Turmeric powder: a pinch

For Preparing Bisibele Powder:

1.       Gram dal: 1 tbsp

2.       Coriander seeds (Dhaniya): 2 tsp

3.       Jeera: 1 tsp

4.       Black Pepper: 6 to 8

5.       Vendhiyam (Fenu greek): ½ tsp

6.       Red Chillies (medium sized): 8 to 9

7.       2 or 3 curry leaves

8.       Asafoedita : a pinch

9.       30 gms of grated coconut

Preparation Procedure:

1. In a Pressure cooker, cook rice and toor dal separately (add a pinch of turmeric powder to the toor dal along with water) by allowing more whistles than normally you will cook for rice. I allowed around 10 whistles.
2. In a Kadai, add 2 tbsp ghee and sauté the small onions for 2 mins and then add the beans and carrot and sauté them for 2 to 3 mins till a slight colour change.
3. Now add the tamarind extract, salt and a pinch of turmeric powder and allow this to boil for 10 minutes.
4. In a separate kadai, add a tsp of oil and roast the contents listed under the section above: ‘For preparing Bisibele Powder’ (except for coconut alone) for a minute or two and not more by keeping the stove in sim.  While the roasted contents cool, grind it in a mixer by adding the grated coconut in the form of a very fine powder. You can also add little water to the grinded mix and make it as a paste.
5. Add this paste to the vegetable tamarind kadai and let it boil till the vegetables are cooked.
6. Add jaggery, curry leaves, coriander leaves and roasted cashews and switch off the stove.
7. Take the cooked rice and dal and mash them well together and add a tsp of ghee.
8. Add this mashed rice to the Kadai and mix it well with the Kadai ingredients by mashing them well. Add 2 tbsp ghee and mash them well.
9. Season Mustard and asafoedita and add it to the kadai.
10. You can decorate it with roasted cashews, coriander leaves and serve it hot, the best combination being Potato Chips / Plantain Chips for this.

Hot Yummy Bisibele bath is ready….. J

Thaengai Vella Payasam

The Preparation procedure for this type of payasam is the same as that of Kadalaparuppu payasam except that at the end of step 4, add a cup of grated grinded coconut paste to the payasam.

Kadalaparuppu & Payathamparuppu Payasam

This is nothing but Gram dal & Moong dal payasam

This is the usual payasam prepared for any auspicious Nonbu and pandigai menu since jaggery is most preferred to sugar during poojai times.

Ingredients:

1.       Gram dal: 30 gms

2.       Moong dal: 20 gms

3.       Jaggery (Crushed): 1 Azhakku / 180 to 200 gms

4.       Boiled Milk: ¼ l

5.       Cardamom Powder: A pinch

6.       Cashew nuts: 10

Preparation Procedure:

1.       Boil the gram dal and moong dal in pressure cooker by adding 200 ml water. You can choose to keep them in a separate partition when cooking along with rice in the cooker.

2.       Allow 5 whistles for it to cook

3.       Now, take a vessel and add the crushed jaggery with 50 ml water and keep stirring it on low flame so that the jaggery dissolves and becomes thick jaggery water. Allow this to cool for few minutes and filter this out using a tea filter / a filter so that any residues from jaggery is filtered and pure jaggery water is used for the payasam.

4.       Add the cooked gram and moong dal to the filtered jaggery water and keep it on stove for boiling in sim.

5.       After 5 mins, add the hot boiling milk (1/4 l) and keep it on stove for 2 to 3 mins and switch off

6.       Add cardamom powder and cashews (roasted in ghee).

7.       You may choose to add a pinch of pachai karpooram if required as per your taste. If you add this more, the payasam would not taste good.

Pal Payasam

Ingredients:

1.       Cooked Rice : Handful / 50 gms

2.       Sugar: ½ Azhakku or 150 to 170 gms

3.       Boiled Milk: ½ litre

4.       Cardamom: 5 (take the powder)

5.       Cashew Nuts: 10 to 15

6.       Pachai Karpooram (optional) : small pinch

7.       Water

8.       Kismis (dry grapes) & saffron (optional)

Preparation Procedure:

1.       Take the cooked rice and transfer it to a vessel.

2.       Add sugar to the vessel and stir well and keep in on the stove.

3.       Do not add water since the sugar along with rice will tend to become watery while it is on flame.

4.       When the sugar dissolves and becomes watery, add the boiled milk and keep stirring for 5 minutes.

5.       Roast the cashews and kismis in a tsp of ghee and add them to the payasam.

6.       Delicious Pal Payasam is ready..

For enhancing taste, you can choose to add a tbsp. of milk maid / Amul mithai mate to the boiling payasam.

Javvarisi Pal Payasam

Ingredients:

1.       Javvarisi : Handful / 50 gms

2.       Sugar: ½ Azhakku or 150 to 170 gms

3.       Boiled Milk: ½ litre

4.       Cardamom: 5 (take the powder)

5.       Cashew Nuts: 10 to 15

6.       Pachai Karpooram (optional) : small pinch

7.       Water

8.       Kismis (dry grapes) & saffron (optional)

Preparation Procedure:

1.       Cook the Javvarisi  in a pressure cooker.  You can chose to cook this in a cooker partition while cooking rice and other recipes by adding around 200 ml water.

2.       Cook for just 1 or 2 whistles. Otherwise, the javvarisi will get mashed up. After cooking, it should turn up as transparent balls.

3.       Take the cooked javvarisi and transfer it to a vessel. Usually, there will not be any water left after the cooking.

4.       Add sugar to the vessel and stir well and keep in on the stove.

5.       Do not add water since the sugar along with javvarisi will tend to become watery while it is on flame.

6.       When the sugar dissolves and becomes watery, add the boiled milk and keep stirring for 5 minutes.

7.       Roast the cashews and kismis in a tsp of ghee and add them to the payasam.

8.       Add cardamom powder and saffron if available.

Hot Javvarisi Pal Payasam ready…

Semiya Payasam

This is my very favourite all time payasam J .. Very tasty and can be made quickly for an occasion

Ingredients:

1.       Roasted Semiya: Handful / 50 gms (I prefer MTR/Bambino roasted vermicelli)

(If there is no roasted Semiya available, buy the plain one and dry roast it for a few mins in the kadai till golden colour)

2.       Sugar: ½ Azhakku or 150 to 170 gms

3.       Boiled Milk: ½ litre

4.       Cardamom: 5 (take the powder)

5.       Cashew Nuts: 10 to 15

6.       Pachai Karpooram (optional) : small pinch

7.       Water

8.       Kismis (dry grapes) & saffron (optional)

Preparation Procedure:

1.       Cook the dry roasted semiya (vermicelli) in a pressure cooker.  You can chose to cook this in a cooker partition while cooking rice and other recipes by adding around 200 ml water.

2.       Cook for three to 4 whistles.

3.       Take the cooked semiya and transfer it to a vessel. Usually, the semiya will not have any water left after the cooking.

4.       Add sugar to the vessel and stir well and keep in on the stove.

5.       Do not add water since the sugar along with semiya will tend to become watery while it is on flame.

6.       When the sugar dissolves and becomes watery, add the boiled milk and keep stirring for 5 minutes.

7.       Roast the cashews and kismis in a tsp of ghee and add them to the payasam.

8.       Add cardamom powder and saffron if available.

Switch off the stove..delicious hot Semiya Pal Payasam is ready…tastes excellent when refrigerated and consumed after 4 or 5 hours as a cool kheer. J

Payasam Varieties

Payasam is the South Indian name for Kheer. A sweet dish to begin the day with, this forms a part of the essential festival / pandigai samayal. Iyers refer it as Payasam and Iyengars refer as Thirukkannamadhu / Kannamudhu (Kannan+Amudhu)

Some varieties of payasam include:

1. Semiya Pal Payasam
2. Pal Payasam
3. Javvarisi Pal Payasam
4. Kadalaparuppu Payathamparuppu Payasam
5. Vella Payasam (With Thaengai)

Thithippu Sundal (Sweet Sundal)

Types of Sundal that can be prepared this way include:

Kaaramani Sundal

Ingredients:

1.       Pulse: 250 g

2.       Jaggery: 4 tsp

3.       Red Chilly (optional) : 1

4.       Mustard: 1 tsp

5.       Salt: a pinch

6.       Grated Coconut: 4 tbsps

7.       Water

8.       Oil: 1 tsp

Preparation Procedure:

1.       Cook the Pulse in a pressure cooker based on the cooking tips available in my blog.

2.       Drain water completely, add a pinch of salt.

3.       In a kadai, add 1 tsp oil, season with mustard and red chilly.

4.       Now add the cooked and drained pulse and the jaggery and keep stirring.

5.       As the mixture thickens, add the grated coconut and leave it on sim for 2 mins and switch off..

Tasty Sweet Sundal is ready to add sweetness to the Navarathri Menu J

Urappu Sundal / Kaara Sundal

Types of Sundal that can be prepared this way include:

1.       Kothukadalai Sundal / Kondakadalai Sundal / Channa Dal Sundal

2.       Kaaramani Sundal

3.       Pattani Sundal (Peas Sundal)

Ingredients:

1.       Any of the pulse: 500 gms

2.       Salt

3.       Red Chilly: 7 to 8

4.       Gram dal: 1 tsp

5.       Coriander seeds / Dhaniya: 2 tsp

6.       Grated Coconut: 4 tbsps

7.       Curry Leaves: 10 to 15

8.       Asafoedita: A pinch

9.       Turmeric Powder: A Pinch

10.   Oil: 2 tsps

Preparation Procedure:

1.       Soak the Pulse based on the time chart: Refer to my post: Tips for cooking sundal

2.       Pressure cook the pulse by adding salt and water in a pressure cooker such that the pulse is soaked (Refer to the Tips for cooking Sundal)

3.       After switching off the pressure cooker, allow this to cool for some time and drain the water completely.

4.       In a kadai, add 1 tsp oil and roast the following to golden brown colour: Red chillies, Dhaniya and Gram dal and when it cools, grind the roasted ingredients as a powder.

5.       Now, reuse the same kadai, add 2 tsp oil and add mustard seeds and while it starts spluttering, add asafoedita, grinded powder from the previous step, the grated coconut and the curry leaves and roast for 10 seconds.

6.       Add the ingredients of the kadai to the drained sundal in the pressure cooker. Do not close the pressure cooker, stir the contents and leave it on stove at sim for less than 5 minutes and switch off.

Hot yummy Urappu/Kara sundal is ready….

Uppu Sundal

Types of Sundal that can be prepared this way include:

1.       Kothukadalai Sundal / Kondakadalai Sundal / Channa Dal Sundal

2.       Kaaramani Sundal

3.       Pattani Sundal (Peas Sundal)

4.       Rajma Sundal

5.       Pacha Payaru Sundal (Green gram/dal sundal)

6.       Mochai Sundal

7.       Kadalai Sundal / Verkadalai Sundal (Peanut Sundal)

8.       Kadalaparuppu Sundal (Gram dal sundal)

9.       Payathamparuppu Sundal / Pasiparuppu Sundal (Moong dal sundal)

Ingredients:

1.       Any of the above said pulse: 500 gms

2.       Salt

3.       Red Chilly: 5 or 6

4.       Green Chilly: Optional (Can be used for Kadalaparuppu and Payatham paruppu Sundal alone. If 1 green chilly is used, reduce the red chilly by 2)

5.       Grated Coconut: 4 tbsps

6.       Curry Leaves: 10 to 15

7.       Asafoedita: A pinch

8.       Turmeric Powder: A Pinch

9.       Oil: 2 tsps

Preparation Procedure:

1.       Soak the Pulse based on the time chart: Refer to my post: Tips for cooking sundal

2.       Pressure cook the pulse by adding salt and water in a pressure cooker such that the pulse is soaked (Refer to the Tips for cooking Sundal). In case of Kadalaparuppu / payathamparuppu Sundal, you can directly cook in the kadai by adding salt and water instead of pressure cooker. This way will allow more control to know the state of the pulse and hence these dals will not mash up as in a pressure cooker.

3.       After switching off the pressure cooker, allow this to cool for some time and drain the water completely.

4.       In a kadai, add 2 tsps oil, add mustard seeds and while it starts spluttering, add asafoedita, Red chillies & Green chilly (optional) and roast them for a while. Now add the grated coconut and the curry leaves and roast for few seconds.

5.       Add the ingredients of the kadai to the drained sundal in the pressure cooker. Do not close the pressure cooker, stir the contents and leave it on stove at sim for less than 5 minutes and switch off.

Tasty, Yummy Sundal is ready… J