Bisi Bele Bath (Karnataka Spiced Lentil Rice)

Instructions

1. Dry-roast the chana dal and urad dal in a pan for 2 minutes until golden. Add the coriander, cumin, fenugreek, peppercorns, chilies, cinnamon and cloves for 2 minutes, then the coconut for 30 seconds. Cool and grind to a fine powder.
2. Cook the rice and toor dal with the 1.2 liters water and turmeric until mushy. In a pressure cooker this takes about 15 minutes at high pressure. In a pot, simmer 40 to 45 minutes. Mash lightly.
3. In a separate large pot, cook the vegetables with the 250 ml water and the salt for 10 minutes, until tender.
4. Stir the tamarind pulp, jaggery and 3 tbsp of the spice powder into the vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add the cooked rice and dal with 250 ml hot water. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often so it does not stick, until it has the consistency of a loose porridge.
6. For the tempering, heat the ghee in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds, and when they pop, add the chilies, curry leaves, cashews and asafoetida until the cashews turn golden.
7. Pour the tempering over the dish, stir and serve hot, topped with boondi or potato chips.

Tips

• The dish thickens as it cools, so keep it looser than you want to serve it, and add hot water when reheating.
• Make a double batch of the spice powder. Stored in a jar it keeps for 2 months, and ready-made bisi bele bath powder can replace it at 3 tbsp.