Millet Bisi Bele Bhath Recipe is a part of the Weekend Thali that I posted earlier today
Bisi Bele Bhath is one of the popular dishes from the Karnataka Cuisine and it is family favorite especially with my daughter .I used to prepare it the normal way with rice but after we started including millets in our daily menu I make this is one or the other variety of millets.
Parboiled Thinai [Foxtail millet] , Varagu [Kodo millet] , Samai [Little millet], Kuthiraivali [ Barnyard millet] are are suited to make this dish. I have not tried with with Ragi / bajra as I felt it would not be a suitable replacement for rice.
The procedure is the same as we do for the regular Bisi Bele Bhath recipe.Just replace your choice / mix of the millets mentioned above and prepare the dish.
If interested do take a look at the Quinoa Bisi Bele Bhath recipe that I have posted earlier. The Sambar Sadham recipe from Tamil nadu is like a distant cousin of this Bisi Bele Bhath.
Now let’s go to the recipe for preparing Millet Bisi Bele Bhath Recipe..
I used:
- Millet [Use any millet mentioned in the notes section below] – 1 cup
- Water -3 1/2 cups
- Toor dhal -3/4 cup
- Tamarind – lemon size [enough to make ¾ cup extract]
- Bisi Bele Bhath powder- 4 teaspoons [adjust to taste]
- Turmeric powder
- Salt – to taste
For Seasoning
Sesame seed oil – 3 teaspoons
Curry leaves – a few sprigs
Cloves – 4
Groundnut – 2 tablespoons
Asafoetida powder- 1/2 teaspoon
In a vessel , take the millet, toor dal ,turmeric powder,salt. Add water and pressure cook for 15 minutes / till dal is done. Remove from pressure cooker and mix well.
In a pan , heat the tamarind extract and add salt, bisi bele bhath powder. cook on medium heat till the raw smell of the tamarind goes off. Now add the cooked millet-dal mix into the pan and mix to combine. Let it cook for another 5 minutes on low flame.Keep stirring once in a while so that it does not burn. Remove onto a serving dish.
Heat sesame oil in a small pan.Add Cloves,asafoetida powder groundnuts and curry leaves.Once the groundnut is roasted, pour over the bisi bele bhath and mix well.
Lip Smacking Bisi Bele Bhath is ready to be served!
Note:
- Parboiled Thinai [Foxtail millet] , Varagu [Kodo millet] , Samai [Little millet], Kuthiraivali [ Barnyard millet] can be used in this recipe.
- If you feel the mixture is too dry at any point of cooking add water and cook till you get the desired consistency. It should have a semi solid kind of consistency.
- It tastes best the next day. Just reheat it and enjoy!
- Use sesame oil for the best results. If not available / you don’t like the taste, use any vegetable oil other than coconut oil and olive oil.
- This is how we make Bisi bele bhath. Some add vegetable to it. But in our family we skip the vegetable and make it the same way my great granny used to prepare this dish.
- I have used the bisi bele spice mix powder but you can also use the freshly ground paste as mentioned in the Bisi Bele Bhath recipe post.
This dish was a part of this weekend thali
I have also shifted to millet one pot meals a while ago and this millet bisibele bhath is a regular feature in my kitchen as well. Makes a healthy and nutritious one pot meal.
Definitely a healthy variation of BB from the rice variety. This is my personal favorite but my family can just tolerate it 🙁 But I make it for myself pretty often and love it.
I love this one and have made it couple of times. So good that your daughter likes this. My boys are yet to try the rice version itself. However, everybody else loves BBB and this replacement that I did was welcomed. Your bowl is surely such an healthy option yaar!
I have made it BBB just a couple of times even though I enjoy it , a millet one would surely be a healthy version and something that my hubby would love as he is an ardent fan of millets .
Adding veggies , obviously will be even healthier , let me try this version , the recipe will definitely be a hit as it’s your great grandma’s !
Such a healthy and nutritious alternative to Bisi bele bhath we make with rice. This looks like so simple and easy to make with readymade bisi bele bhath powder. You can missed bisi belel bhath powder in the list of ingredients. Please check
Somehow skipped writing that!! Thanks for letting me know Narmadha. Added it now.
I was looking for some veggies, but as you said I got it. As I do not add any veggies in sambar. I too love bise bile that, but make it with rice, will try millet next time
Love BBB with millets. It’s the best way to get acquired to them. I use ragi flour and bajra flour for kanchi or idli and dosai. As you said, I never used them like rice replacements.