Bhaths, Pulaos, Rices & Saadams!

Bahala Bath-the Grand Finale of a South Indian Meal.

There are many ways of making Bahala Bath & it varies with families & states.

I am combining the best of everything in this recipe:

Rice(new quality which cooks very soft) - 1 cup

Water - 3 cups ( adjust the quantity ofwater to cook the rice very soft & mushy )

Butter - 1 tbsp

Milk - 1/2 cup

Fresh curds - 2 cups

Green chilli-ginger paste - 1 tsp ( optional )

Salt, Hing or dry ginger powder

Chopped cucumber - ½ cup

Chopped mango - ½ cup ( optional )

To decorate:

Long red chillies - 4

Long green chilies - 4

Whole cashew split into 2 - 10

Raisins - 1 tbsp

Curry leaves - few

Chopped coriander leaves - few

Tiny seedless green grapes - ½ cup

To temper:

Gingelly oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cook rice very soft & mushy .

When hot , add butter, salt, hing or ginger powder, green chilli-ginger paste& mash with a potato masher to the consistency of your choice.

Some prefer it very mushy & some, a little grainy.

When cold, add milk, curds & mix thoroughly.

Mix cucumber & mangoes as well.

Temper both chillies, mustard seeds, cashews, Raisins ( this should just swell )

& curry leaves.

Arrange the tempered ingredients decoratively.

Some like to add grated coconut and (or) chopped onions for a different taste.

Bahalabath decorated with greenchillies,violetgrapes,corianderleaves,raisins ,etc.





Bahalabath decorated with redchillies,greengrapes,curryleaves,cashewnuts,etc .



Bahalabath decorated with shredded carrots,coriander,pomegranate,boondhis,red,green & yellow powders,etc.

Raw long-grain rice - 1 ½ cups

Carrot - 1 mediuFrench beans - 12

Shredded cabbage - ½ cup

Spring onions - 4

Spring onion tops, finely chopped - 1 cup

Shredded pineapple - ½ cup

Shredded apple, with red skin on - ¼ cup

Almonds - ¼ cup

Shelled walnuts - ¼ cup

Oil - 7 tbsp

Ajinomoto - ¼ tsp

Soya sauce - 4 tbsp

Salt

Boil rice so that grains are separate.

Scrape carrot & string french beans.

Drop the cabbage, whole carrot & french beans for 1 minute into water to which ½ tsp salt is added.

Drain & cool.

Cut carrot & beans into thin long strips.

Peel onion & cut into thin long strips.

Boil almonds & walnuts in 1 ½ cups of water for about 5 mts.

Drain & blanch the almonds.

Heat the oil, fry both nuts till brown.

Drain & set aside.

In the remaining oil, fry onions, carrot, beans, cabbage, ajinomoto & salt for 2 mts on high flame.

Add rice, soya sauce & spring onion tops.

Stir fry over a high flame for 3-5 mts

Add apple & mix well.

Garnish with pineapple, fried almonds & walnuts.

Rice – preferably long-grained - 1 cup

Cinnamon - 2 one inch pieces

Bay leaves - 2 pieces

Tomatoes - 4 big (chopped)

Onions - 3 (chopped)

Ginger & garlic - 1 tbsp (minced or paste)

Green chillies - 3 (slit)

Mint leaves - a handful (chopped)

Coriander leaves - - a handful (chopped)

Oil - 4 tbsp
tomatosadam-1.jpg
Clean wash & soak rice for 15 mtes.

Drain well.

In a pressure cooker or pan, heat oil & temper in order ( adding one after the previous one is fried) – bay leaves, cinnamon, chopped onions, ginger garlic paste, chopped tomatoes, slit green chillies, chopped mint & coriander leaves& finally add rice.
tomatosadam-2.jpg
tomatosadam-3.jpg
Fry well add 2 cups of water & salt. When water starts boiling well, close the cooker, keep the weight, lower the flame & switch off after 10 mtes.

Cool& open.
It is optional to add 1 tsp sugar with salt.
tomatosadam-4.jpg

Plain Bisibela without vegetables:

Rice - 1 cup

Tur dhal - ½ - ¾ cup

Tamarind paste - 2 tsp

Fry in ½ tsp oil:

Dhaniya - 3 tbsp

Red chillies - 10

Udad dhal - 1 tsp

Gram dhal - 2 tsp

Methi seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera - ½ tsp

Hing - 1 tsp

Cinnamon - 2 “

Cloves - 2

Cardamom - 1

Curry leaves - few

Copra - 2 tbsp (add at the end)

To temper:

Oil + ghee - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Red chillies - 2, broken

Wash & cook rice, dhal & haldi together in 6 cups of water first, till soft.

In 1 tsp oil, fry all ingredients for masala, adding copra last & immediately switching off.

Powder the masalas.

Mix tamarind paste in 1 cup of water.

Now mix cooked rice & dhal mixture, tamarind water, masala, curry leaves & little jaggery (optional) & cook for one more whistle.

Cool, open & temper.

Serve hot with ghee.

Bisibela With Vegetables:

This method involves cooking all ingredients together & includes vegetables also.

Rice - 1 ½ cups

Tur dhal - ¾ cup

Tamarind - 2 tsp

Salt, haldi

Cubed English vegetables - 2 cups

To fry each separately till golden & powder with 1 cup grated copra:

Red chillies - 8

Dhaniya - 3 tbsp

Gram dhal - 3 tbsp

Urad dhal - 1 ½ tbsp

Cinnamon - 1”

Cloves - 4

To temper:

Mixture of oil & ghee - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Wash rice & dhal & keep ready.

Cut all vegetables.

Take 9 – 10 cups of water including tamarind paste.Take a pressure cooker, temper as given, add all ingredients.

When the mixture boils vigorously, close the cooker & keep the weight.

When the first whistle comes, simmer & cook for 15 mts.

If you are adding chopped onions, add raw at the beginning or fried in little oil at the end.

Serve hot with ghee.

The photo is posted below.

Mysore Bisibela:

Given in Rice Recipes thread - click here for the same

Rice (thin, long variety) - 1 cup

Chopped cabbage - 2 cups

Salt

To grind:

Coconut grated - ¾ cup

Green chillies - 3-4

Pottukadalai (fried gram) - 2 tbsp

To temper:

Oil - 3 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 2 tsp

Gram dhal - 2 tsp

Red chillies - 1-2

Hing - ½ tsp

Haldi - ¼ tsp

Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped

Cook rice so that grains are separate.

In a kadai, heat oil, temper all ingredients & finally add chopped cabbage.

Cover & cook cabbage in its own steam.

When done, add ground paste & salt.

Mix thoroughly & add rice & salt.

Stir the mixture thoroughly from top to bottom so that cabbage & paste become a homogeneous mixture with rice.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with any raita.

Basmati rice - 2 cups

Ginger 1 ½” & Garlic 10-12 pieces - crushed together

Cloves - 2

Cinnamon - 1”

Bay leaves - 2 pieces

From 1 ½ cups grated coconut take

Coconut milk - fairly thick - 1 cup

Thin milk - 3 cups

Curds - 1 tbsp

Onions - 2 big, sliced

Green chillies - 2, slit

Chopped coriander leaves - 1 cup

Pudina leaves - ½ cup

Oil & ghee together - ½ cup.

Soak rice for 20 mts & drain well.

In a pressure cooker or big pan, heat the mixture of oil & ghee.

When hot, add bay leaves, cinnamon & cloves.

When fried, add chopped onions, when they become transparent, add crushed ginger-garlic.

Then fry green chillies & add curds.

Fry for 2 mtes & add rice.

Fry well till colour changes.

Add both oconut milks & salt.

When it starts boiling, add coriander leaves & mint.

WHEN THE WHOLE MIXTURE STARTS BOILING RAPIDLY, close the cooker, keep the weight & simmer the flame.

Switch off after 10 mts.

Open after 15 mts.

Since it is cooked under pressure in a closed vessel, it tastes closest to dhum method of cooking of olden days & the flavour is very good.

The usual side dish for this is Brinjal Masala.

Note:

If you extract coconut milk in 2 instalments, more cream will come out than in one instalment.
ghuska.jpg

Rice - 1 cup

Tur dhal - 2 tbsp

Tamarind paste - 2 tbsp ( more or less, according to your taste)

Red chilli powder - 2 tsp

Green chilli ground paste - 2 tsp (or finely minced)

Vegetables:

Small onions (peeled) - ½ cup (optional)

Chopped keerai - 1 cup (can be any keerai, including drumstick leaves)

Cubes of potato, seppankizangu, yam, koorkankizangu - 2 cups

Pieces of clusterbeans, brinjal, banana, avaraikkai - 2 cups

Mochai paruppu - ½ cup (or soak dry ones & cook)

Cubes of sour mango - ½ cup

Coconut grated - 1 cup (grind ½ cup fine)

Gingelly oil - ½ cup

Boil all vegetables except mango & onion.

In a pressure cooker cook tur dhal with haldi in 1 cup of water for 2 whistles.

Cool, open add rice & 4 cups of water.

Cook till done.

Add keerai first & cook.

Then add cooked vegetables,mango, tamarind paste mixed with water, green chilli paste, red chilli powder & salt.

Adjust to your desired consistency.

Allow the mixture to boil well.

Fry onions in 1 tbsp oil & add.

Add ground & grated coconut.

When all ingredients have blended well, break 4-5 fried appalams into pieces & add just before removing.

Temper 1 tsp mustard seeds in half of the oil & add.

Add remaining raw gingelly oil & mix well.


I shall post " Morkuzambu Kadamba Saadam" separately.

Basmati rice - 1 cup

Peas - 1 cup

Water - 2 cups

Curds - 1 tbsp

Bay leaves - 1

Cloves - 2

Cardamom - 2

Onions - 2 medium – slice

Mixture of oil & ghee – 3 tbsp

Salt

Crush the following together coarsely:

Small onions - a handful

Green chillies - 4

Ginger - 1”

Garlic - 5,6

Chopped coriander leaves - ½ cup

Soak the rice for 15-20 mts & drain.

Heat the oil-ghee mixture in a pressure pan.

When hot, add bay leaves, cloves & cinnamon.

Add sliced onions & fry till they turn transparent.

Next add the crushed mixture & fry till the raw smell goes.

Next add peas & fry for 3,4 mts.

Add curds & then add rice & fry till colour changes.

Add water & salt.

WHEN THE WHOLE MIXTURE STARTS BOILING RAPIDLY, close the cooker & keep the weight.

Immediately simmer the flame & cook for 10 mts.

Switch off & allow the pressure to drop.

Open after 15 mts.

Serve with a raita.

Starting with this, I plan to post pudina saadam, karuveppilai saadam & venthayakeerai saadam next.

Thin variety of rice 1 cup

Salt

Grind to paste:

Coriander leaves 2 cups (chopped)

Green chillies 4-5

Tamarind paste 1 tsp

To temper:

Mustard seeds 1 tsp

Udad dhal 1 tbsp

Oil 2 tbsp

To garnish:

Roasted peanuts 3 tbsp

Soft white grated coconut - 2 tbsp (optional)

Cook rice so that the grains are separate.

Cool by spreading on a plate.

Clean & chop the coriander leaves & grind the paste.

Heat oil in a vessel, add tempering ingredients & then the paste.

Fry till the raw smell goes.

Add rice & salt.

Mix well & remove.

Garnish with roasted peanuts & grated coconut – it looks very attractive.

Tip:

(1) For all mixed rices, if we are using urad dhal or gram dhal for tempering, soak them for 1 hr. Then drain & spread on a cloth till dry. Then use it for tempering, they will be very crisp.

(2) For this rice urad dhal or gram dhal or both together can be used. I prefer to use one dhal only for a rice. Since I use gram dhal for pudina saadam, I use urad dhal for this.

(3)1 Tbsp of raw oil added at the end enhances the taste of any mixed variety of rice. This is also one's preference.

Thin variety of rice - 1 cup

Fresh curry leaves - 1—1 ½ cups (quantity is optional)

Salt

To fry in 1 tsp oil & powder:

Red chillies - 5-6

Pepper - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tbsp

Seasame seeds - 2 tsp

Khus khus - 2 tsp

To temper:

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 2 tsp

Gram dhal - 2 tsp

To garnish:

Coarsely powdered groundnuts - 2 tbsp (optional)

Cook the rice so that grains are separate.

Dry roast the curry leaves on a kadai & powder ( a better alternative is to spread them on a plate & micro Hi for 4,5 mts, cool & powder – the green colour is beautifully maintained.)

Cool the rice, add the made powder, curry leaf powder & salt.

Temper as given & garnish.

1 tbsp raw oil added at the end enhances the taste of any mixed rice.

curryleaves rice.JPG