Foxtail millet bisibele bhaat recipe

Bisibele bhaat is my all time favourite  main course dish, which is popular in Karnataka, especially the Mysore region . Oh how I love this Bisibele bhaat!! Generally it's one of the main course dish in marriage and other functions too. The reason is - Compared to any other rice recipes, Bisibele bhaat can be served to comparitively larger crowd, using lesser quantity of ingredients.
It is a one pot dish typically prepared using tur dal, rice and veggies. But here's the twist as here in this recipe, it's made with Foxtail millets instead of rice. This was the idea suggested by one of my friends and it really worked well for me. As I am from Karnataka, I crave for Rice at meal times. Nothing can beat rice in giving us that feeling of content at meal times. At the same time we have to be conscious about the amount of rice intake. In this recipe, Millets are used instead of rice. This is one more addition to the Millets recipes. So let's check the recipe.

Ingredients :

• Tur dal / split Pigeon peas- 1/4 cup
• Foxtail millets - 1/2 cup
• Vegetables - Beans, Carrots, Potatoes - each 1/4 cup, chopped
• Frozen / fresh peas - 1/4 cup
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Onion - 1 big, chopped finely
• Tomato - 1, chopped finely
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Bisibele bahaat Powder - 2 tbsp 
• Jaggery - 1 tsp
• Tamarind juice - 1 tbsp
• Water - around 3 cups
• Salt - 2 tsps
• Oil - 2 tsp 
• Dry coconut - 1/4 cup , grated or powdered (optional)

For seasoning:

• Ghee - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cashews -5 , halved
• Asafoetida / hing - a pinch
• Curry leaves - few
• Red chillies - 2 to 3, broken

Preparing Bisi bele bhaat :

• Wash the tur dal and the millets well.
  
• In a frying pan, heat a teaspoon of oil and then add crushed garlic pods.
  Fry for a minute and then add chopped onion and fry until translucent. Add the tomatoes and repeat the same procedure.
  
• In a pressure cooker, add the washed tur dal, millets, chopped vegetables, Frozen/ fresh peas, salt - 1tsp ,turmeric powder and the sauteed garlic, onions and tomatoes.
  
• Add the water and pressure cook until 2 whistles are heard.
  
• Once the pressure releases, add water, tamarind juice, jaggery, salt 1 tsp.
• In a separate bowl, dissolve 2 tbsp Bisibele bhaat powder in 1/4 cup water. This is done because the powder turns into lumps if added directly.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Pour the dissolved bisibele bhaat powder into the pressure cooker and mix everything gently. Take care to cook now in low flame as there are high chances of the tur dal sticking to the bottom. Keep stirring the mixture now and then. Let it cook in low flame for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, we can prepare the seasoning. In a small pan, heat the oil and ghee. Add Mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Then add the Cashews, Asafoetida, Red chillies, Curry leaves one after another and saute. Pour the seasoning over the Bisibele bhaat.
  
  
  
  Finish it off by adding coriander leaves and grated dry coconut.
  
• Bisibele bhaat is now ready to be served and it goes really well with ghee and Khaara boondi. Not to forget our favourite, Mosaranna ( Rice with yoghurt, seasoned with a few spices).
  
  
  
  
  
• Bisibele bhaat, Dal vada, Khaara boondi , Mosaranna ( yoghurt rice ) , Payasa( dessert ) - this will be the typical menu on certain festivals and to the closest guests that arrive in our family.  
  

  Note :

• Adding ghee for the seasoning enhances the flavor of the Bisibele bhaat.
• If you are the one having digestion problems/ bloating sensation, go easy on Asafoetida and add generous 2 to 3 pinches of it during seasoning. This helps the Masalas and Tur dal go easy on your stomach.

Though Bisibele bhaat powder is readily available in the market, I prefer to make my own masala powder. I will be sharing the recipe of the same in my furher posts. There will be a huge difference in the final outcome and as I always say, Homemade things always are the best.
Please try this recipe and if you find it good, share your views and comments. Follow me on Google+ and Pinterest to get regular updates of new posts. Thank you!