South Indian · Main course
Bisi Bele Bath
Bisi bele bath is a Karnataka one-pot dish of rice and toor dal cooked together with vegetables, tamarind and a distinctive fresh-ground masala of roasted spices and coconut. The name means hot lentil rice in Kannada. Unlike khichdi it is heavily spiced and sour, and the masala is what defines it.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total time
- 1 hr
- Servings
- 4
- Vegetarian
- High-protein
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice and 3/4 cup toor dal
- 2 cups mixed vegetables: carrot, beans, peas, potato, capsicum
- A small lime-sized ball of tamarind, soaked
- For the masala: 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon chana dal, 1 teaspoon urad dal, 6 dried red chillies, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek, 4 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon, 1/4 cup grated coconut
- 3 tablespoons ghee
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 15 curry leaves and 10 cashews
- 1 teaspoon jaggery
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- Salt to taste
NNWA health note
This is one of the genuinely well balanced dishes in Indian cooking, and unusually so. Rice and toor dal together supply complementary amino acids that neither provides alone, the vegetables add fibre and micronutrients, and the tamarind contributes vitamin C which improves absorption of the plant iron in the dal. Eaten with curd it needs almost nothing else to be a complete meal.
Method
- 01
Dry roast each masala ingredient separately until fragrant, coconut last and briefly, then cool and grind to a fine powder. Roasting them together burns the small ones before the large ones colour.
- 02
Pressure cook the toor dal with turmeric until completely soft, and mash it smooth.
- 03
Cook the rice separately until slightly softer than usual. Bisi bele bath is meant to be soft, not grainy.
- 04
Boil the mixed vegetables in salted water until just tender, keeping the water.
- 05
Combine the dal, rice, vegetables and their water in a large pot with the tamarind extract, jaggery, salt and the ground masala.
- 06
Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, adding hot water until it is loose and pourable. It thickens considerably as it stands.
- 07
Heat the ghee, pop the mustard seeds, fry the cashews and curry leaves until golden, and pour this over the top.
Last reviewed on 10 September 2026.
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What makes bisi bele bath different from khichdi?
Almost everything except the rice and dal. Khichdi is deliberately plain, often made for convalescence, seasoned with little more than turmeric and ghee. Bisi bele bath carries a complex fresh-ground masala of a dozen roasted spices and coconut, is soured with tamarind and sweetened with jaggery, and contains a substantial quantity of vegetables. They share a base and belong to entirely different traditions.
Why must the masala be ground fresh?
Because the coconut in it will not keep. Fresh grated coconut roasted into a spice powder gives the dish its particular body and sweetness, and it turns rancid within days at room temperature. Commercial bisi bele bath powders solve this by using dried coconut or leaving it out, which is why they never taste quite right. Grinding a batch fresh takes twenty minutes and is the difference between the real dish and an approximation.
Why roast each spice separately?
Because they have very different sizes and oil contents and therefore very different roasting times. Fenugreek and cumin scorch in under a minute while coriander seeds need three, and a burnt fenugreek seed will make the entire batch bitter with no way back. Roasting separately is tedious and is the step home cooks most often skip, and skipping it is the commonest reason a home bisi bele bath tastes harsh.
What is the right consistency?
Loose enough to pour, because it thickens dramatically as it cools. Rice and dal continue absorbing liquid off the heat, and a dish that looks correct in the pot will be a solid mass ten minutes later. Add hot water freely at the end until it moves easily when you tilt the pot. This is the most common complaint about home versions and the easiest thing to correct.
Is bisi bele bath a complete meal?
It comes closer than almost any other single Indian dish. Rice and toor dal together provide a complementary amino acid profile, since the lysine that grains lack is supplied by the pulse and the methionine that pulses lack is supplied by the grain. Add the vegetables, the ghee and a bowl of curd and you have carbohydrate, protein, fat, fibre and a range of micronutrients in one bowl. Our vegetarian protein sources guide explains the complementarity in more detail.
Which vegetables belong in it?
Carrot, beans, peas and potato are standard, and capsicum is common in Bengaluru versions. Avoid anything that disintegrates, since the dish is already soft and needs some textural definition. Vegetables should be cooked separately and added, not boiled into the rice and dal from the start, or they turn to pulp. Frozen mixed vegetables work perfectly well here.
What is traditionally served with it?
Boondi, potato chips or a crisp papad, and curd. The dish is soft throughout, so it needs something crunchy on top, and that is not a garnish but a structural part of how it is eaten in Karnataka. A spoonful of extra ghee at the table is standard. It needs no accompanying curry, which is the point of a one-pot meal.
Learn the science
Plant-Based Nutrition
This dish's nutrition reasoning is taught in full in this NNWA course.
What people ask about Bisi Bele Bath
What is the difference between bisi bele bath and khichdi?
Khichdi is deliberately plain rice and dal, lightly seasoned, often eaten when unwell. Bisi bele bath is heavily spiced with a fresh-ground masala of roasted spices and coconut, soured with tamarind, sweetened with jaggery and packed with vegetables. They share a base but are entirely different dishes from different traditions.
Can I use shop-bought bisi bele bath powder?
It works, but it will not taste like the real thing. Commercial powders leave out fresh coconut or use dried, because fresh coconut turns rancid quickly, and the coconut is a large part of the dish's body and sweetness. Grinding fresh takes about twenty minutes and makes a noticeable difference.
Why is my bisi bele bath too thick?
It was not loose enough when you took it off the heat. Rice and dal keep absorbing liquid as they cool, so the dish should be pourable in the pot to be correct in the bowl. Add hot water freely at the end until it moves easily when the pot is tilted, and add more when reheating leftovers.
Is bisi bele bath healthy?
It is one of the better balanced single dishes in Indian cooking. Rice and toor dal together give a complete amino acid profile, the vegetables add fibre and micronutrients, and tamarind supplies vitamin C which helps iron absorption from the dal. The ghee is the main variable; three tablespoons across four servings is reasonable.
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