bisibele bhath : the southern khichdi we loved even in the simplest way

Bisibele bhath recipe used to feel very complicated whenever I saw it on other blogs or when friends explained it to me. Roasting a lot of spices separately, powdering them and then cooking a few more things separately to mix them all together to make a khichdi that tastes divine, that was my impression of Bisi bele bhath or BBB as it is called by BBB admirers. Yes Bisibele bhath has admirers, you realise when you talk about it to someone who has grown up eating this. I used to feel really out of place even though I love everything that looks like khichdi, be it our bhuni khichdi, mung ki khichdi or risotto, the firangi khichdi. Even Haleem that we love so much.

Bisi bele bhath is no less than Haleem mind you. The dark beauty it is, packed with flavours that makes the meal deeply satisfying and worth admiring too. And this was a short cut recipe that my friend Nirupama typed for me in a hurry one night so I could make a decent Bisi bele bhath with the fresh Pigeon pea lentils she had packed for me during my Hyderabad visit 2 weeks ago.

Yes we were in Hyderabad for a week and experienced harvesting, cooking and eating a farm to table meal along with other things one does in a city seeped with history and old world charm. I met a few dear friends, made a few new friends and brought back some really good stuff home. I bought pickles and kalamkari fabric and my friend Nirupama packed some more foodie gits for me, one of the gifts was this bag of fresh pigeon peas that they call Kandulu in Telugu, Thuvaram in Tamil and Arhar phalli or Tuvar phalli in Hindi. I was amazed to see heaps of this lentil being sold on roadsides towards airport along with seasonal fruits, mainly papaya, oranges and pomegranate.

We never get to see this arhar ki phalli in north Indian markets, fresh green peas are very common during this season and hara chana (fresh green garbanzo) also starts coming but just imagine if we get fresh pods of all the lentils we grow. I think I will use one or the other fresh beans everyday in my cooking.

Fresh Pigeon peas are also called Toor lilva and is used extensively in Marathi and Gujrati cuisines. Some day I will cook all of those things for sure. A proper Undhiyo has been on my list for ever although I have cooked lame versions of Undhiyo a few times.

We had enjoyed this fresh Pigeon peas at Aiyor Bai farm by just boiling them in salted water and snacking on them warm. But this was the first time I was eating these lentils fresh and I wanted to experiment more.

Nirupama recommended the Bisi bele bhath, typed a recipe for me and I mustered the courage to make it for the first time. The divine tasting BBB did not disappoint me even though it was a simplified recipe that Nirupama told me so I could manage to make a decent one.

ingredients
(2 meal portions with some yogurt and papad on the side)

white short grain rice (or broken basmati) 1/4 cup
fresh pigeon peas 1 cup
dry grated or desiccated coconut 2 tbsp
whole coriander seeds 1 tbsp
2-3 Bedgi chillies broken
cinnamon stick 1 inch broken
sambhar powder (ready made from a packet) 1 tbsp
cashew nuts 2-3 tbsp
diced onions 1/2 cup
curry patta 2-3 tbsp
mustard seeds 1 tsp
hing 1 pinch
ghee 1 tbsp

chopped vegetables in bite sized pieces 2-3 cups (I used carrots, cauliflowers and brinjal)

tamarind extract to taste ( I boiled 1 tbsp worth of tamarind with a cup of water, mashed when cool, filtered and added the watery extract to BBB)

procedure

Boil the fresh pigeon peas along with a cup of water and salt to taste in pressure cooker. About 5-8 minutes under pressure (after the first whistle blows). Cool down, open the cooker, add the chopped vegetables and simmer till the vegetables are soft. Add some water if required.

Cook the rice with a cup of water till done. The rice will be watery even after cooking but this is intended.

In the meanwhile, dry roast the broken chillies, cinnamon, whole coriander seeds and the coconut together till they all become a little dark and aromatic. Add the desiccated coconut later if using, grated coconut can be roasted along with everything else. Add sambhar powder in the end and switch off the gas so the powder gets roasted in residual heat. Let them all cool down. Then make a coarse powder and keep aside.

In the same pan, pour ghee and tip in mustard and hing. Let them crackle before adding cashew nuts and fry them till pinkish brown. Add the onions and curry patta and fry till translucent.

Mix the powdered mix with the fried mix and stir well.

Add this mixture to the cooked lentils and rice together, add the tamarind extract, adjust seasoning and simmer for 5 minutes till everything comes together.

The resultant dish will be very aromatic by now. Fry or roast some papad and lay the table. You can't wait for long once the Bisi bele bhath is ready.

I had fried alu ka papad which is a Banaras specialty and a vadi made with puffed rice called Aralu sandige that Nirupama had packed for me. Such meals are enjoyed with extended family most.

I always feel we love such flavours best when there are more people around. People you have grown up with, have made memories together and have eyed the the last yummiest morsels of food from the table together.

Bisi bele bhath will be licked clean by the end of the meal no matter how much you serve. Even this short cut recipe thanks to Nirupama is a keeper and I will be cooking this version a lot. But I will be making the elaborate version of Bisi bele bhath very soon.

Feeling encouraged by the first success of my Bisi bele Bhath.

paneer safeda | white paneer curry in a cashewnut gravy

Paneer is the only special treat for vegetarians or one of the few protein rich foods for them. At least it is perceived like this here in India. And a whole lot of paneer recipes are made in Indian homes, mostly because it blends well with all types of flavors, just like eggs and potatoes.  But strangely enough I have not posted many recipes of paneer here although I keep cooking with paneer quite often due to the ease of cooking a quick curry it provides. But when I made this safeda paneer or paneer safeda, which is actually paneer in a white gravy, I could not stop myself from posting it here almost immediately, well that is within 5 days after making it. Can't get quicker than this :-)

Paneer safeda is made in many versions using different types of nuts for their subtle flavors and the taste differs in each of those versions. This recipe is a simple and quick one, like all my recipes which is good for everyday cooking and the flavors are so exotic that it is fit for a formal dinner as a main course dish. Actually last time when I made this dish for a large family get together of 20 people I choose this dish because a few extended family members did not eat garlic and onion. And I had to cook a no fuss recipe because there were many more dishes to be taken care of for a 7 course meal for 20. No need to tell that this dish became the talking point at the table. Simple delicate flavours and rich tasting curry. Many of them asked for the recipe and when I told how simple it is, they were surprised.

This paneer safeda is a Jain recipe (without onion and garlic) but a few other versions make use of onions and a bit of garlic too. Some call it Doodhiya paneer or Chandni paneer with minimal variations like using chopped almonds and saffron as a garnish or finely chopped green chillies and minced ginger as a garnish.

We prefer paneer safeda in it's pure white form. Just like this one.

As I mentioned, paneer safeda is a special recipe meant for formal dinners, more because it is a bit rich tasting due to the use of nut paste. Also because it presents delicately flavored aroma of spices that is appreciated well in most Banaras homes. And paneer safeda goes well with butter naan or roomali roti, more reason to be erved for such north Indian meals.

This time I served it with thin whole wheat chapatis which complemented the dish very well. Note that this recipe is certainly rich because it uses cashew nuts, but it is not a fatty paneer curry which gives you those guilt pangs after a cozy dinner. The amount of cashews per serving is very low, that is about cashews and the amount of fat (I used fresh cream as a cooking medium) is also low, that is 1/2 tbsp of fresh cream per serving. Yeah I calculated the amounts carefully this time and now you know how a rich gravy can be healthy too. Read on...

ingredients..
( serves 4)
paneer 250 gm
cashews 20 nos.
fresh cream (I used fresh malai from whole milk) 2 tbsp
salt to taste

masala made in to a paste
black pepper corns 20 nos. (white peppercorns are better but i didn't have)
green cardamom 3 nos.
black cardamom 1 no.
cinnamon stick 1 inch long
cloves 5 nos.
fresh ginger root 1 inch piece
bay leaf 2 nos. ( scissor cut into fine shreds)

all these ingredients are to be made into a paste with some water in a spice grinder .

procedure..

Cube the paneer into rectangular pieces and keep aside.

Make a fine paste of cashews with some water and keep aside. Cashews can be soaked for a few hours for making fine paste but do it instantly most of the times. You just have to run the grinder for a few more minutes if you are grinding dry cashews along with the spices.

Now pour the fresh cream into the pan (I used a steel kadhai) and filter the masala paste right into the kadhai. Place a sieve on top of the kadhai and pour the masala paste into it and let all the masala extract pour into the kadhai. Reserve the masala  solids to flavor some daal etc., I usually make some sabut masoor daal too with this curry and the same masala gets used in the daal. Sometimes I add the masala solids to kali daal or chane ki daal.

Coming back to the white gravy, now keep the kadhai on flame and let the mixture come to a soft boil.

Now pour in the cashew paste and let it simmer again. It just takes 5-6 minutes....

I took all these pictures because this is an unconventional way of making a gravy and I wanted the procedure to be more clear....

Now add salt and the paneer pieces and let it simmer again, just for 2 minutes more. Cover the kadhai, put off the flame and let it rest for 5 minutes so that the flavors get seeped in..

Serve hot with any kind of flat bread....we did not have any side dish this time as it was meant to be a light but special dinner It truly was so. You would agree when you try this paneer safeda at home.

Enjoy the curry that is often called Chandni subzi or Chandni paneer, doodhiya paneer. Most common name known in Banaras is paneer safeda.

If you don't filter the masala paste for this curry its not a problem. Only that the curry will not be as white and smooth as the picture above. I cooked paneer safeda again sometime back for a dinner and there was quite a lot of leftover curry. This time I did not filter the masala paste and the curry was a bit grainy and a little darker as seen in the picture below. But that taste was unmistakably the same.

Incidentally I cooked sabut masoor ki daal too even though there was no masala solids after filtration. Some foods become such an inseparable pairing in families that they keep repeating together always.
I hope you would like paneer safeda the way we do. Try it and let me know.

Cheers.