Bisi bele bhath is a spicy and flavor packed rice dish that is cooked with lentils, rice, lots of vegetables and aromatic spices! I love south indian food and the flavors of the fresh spices and ground lentils used in various dishes is simply divine. Bisi bele bhath to me is the ultimate comfort food  when it comes to simple home cooked south indian food.
Bisi bele bhath, a south indian rice based dish means ‘hot lentil rice’. I must put this disclaimer up-front that I am no expert in south indian cooking and I am sure there are many different ways to cook this amazing dish.
Bisi bele bhath or sambhar rice was introduced to me by my friend, Indu few years back. While my kitchen was under major renovation in the midst of cold winter months, Indu would deliver us fresh home made food. One of her mouth-watering dishes is this bisi bele bhath (and yes I love saying this word over and over..ha!) that soon became a favorite in my house.
Once my kitchen was all ready, I couldn’t wait to get the recipe from Indu and make it myself. Her suggestion that I always follow is to use hardy vegetables like potatoes, pumpkin, cauliflower, beans etc and not the leafy vegetables.
What are drumsticks?
No, these are not chicken drumsticks! These are hardy beans from Moringa tree, available fresh or frozen in Indian grocery stores. They are optional and can be skipped.Â
The spice blend used in this recipe is made by roasting and grinding dried red chilies, coriander seeds, lentils(chana daal), fenugreek seeds and shredded coconut. This spice blend powder can be made ahead of time or a store bought bisi bele bhath spice blend powder would also work.
I usually will rinse my rice and lentils while I get the spice blend and the vegetables ready. Â This also allow the lentils to soak in the water for a little and cook much faster. This is a great stove top/traditional pressure cooker recipe that I now love making in my instant pot.
Variations and Substitues for Bisi Bele Bhath
- You can add veggies like pearl onions, pumpkin and squash
- Substitute lemon juice for tamarind paste
- Use 1 to 2 teaspoons of chili powder instead of whole chili peppers in the spice blend
- Add extra 1 to 2 cups of water for a more stew-like consistency
- Substitute white rice with quinoa, same pressure cooking time
- Substitute white rice with brown rice, increase pressure cook time to 22 minutes
As with most instant pot recipes, I always make sure that I have all, I mean ALL the ingredients ready even before I turn the IP on. Here is a video on one pot version of this south indian dish that we love -bisi bele bhath in instant pot:
Although I make this dish in ghee, I love to drizzle another spoonful of ghee on top with a blob of tangy pickle and roasted papad to scoop it with!
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- 1 cup rice
- 3/4 cup toor daal yellow pigeon peas
- 1 cup cauliflower florets cut into 1 inch florets
- 1 red potato cubed 1/2 inch
- 8-10 pieces drumsticks optional
- 1/2 cup green beans cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced
- 1/2 green pepper cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 8-10 curry leaves optional
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped for garnish
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste optional, more or less depending on how tangy it is
- 2 tbsp ghee coconut oil or any cooking oil for Vegan
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/8 tsp asafetida powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- salt to taste
- Spice blend:
- 4-6 dried red chilies I use mild Kashmiri chilies
- 2 heaping tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tbsp chana daal
- 1 tbsp shredded coconut dried or fresh
- Rinse rice and lentils and keep aside. Wash and chop all the vegetables.
- Lightly roast all the spices from the spice blend. Let them cool completely and then grind to fine powder.
Turn the Instant Pot to sauté (more) mode and heat ghee. Add mustard seeds, asafetida and turmeric. Let the mustard seeds pot, may take 2 to 3 minutes. Add all the vegetables except the cilantro. Mix well.
Add salt, tamarind paste and spice blend powder. Mix well. Add rice and lentils and 6 cups of water. Close the Instant Pot lid with the pressure value set to sealing. Press the Rice button. Allow the pressure to release naturally, about 15 mins. Open the Instant pot and stir the bisi bele bhath lightly. Serve hot with a drizzle of ghee, tangy pickle and roasted papad.
Recipe Video
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Author: Archana
Hey there! I am a techie turned recipe developer, cooking instructor, and food blogger. I love food and enjoy developing easy and healthy recipes for busy lifestyles. I live New Jersey with my husband and two sons.
Indu says
Looks wonderful with all the colorful vegetables and the flavors!
Archana says
Thank you Indu. Yes, so much nutrition and taste packed in all those colors.
Indu says
Ooh la la!! Yumminess made easier … thank you! Now, if we could just figure out a way to eat straight from these gorgeous pictures đ
Archana says
Thank you Indu! Our family loves this recipe from you.
annika says
The video is awesome!
Archana says
Thank you annika!
phashionbug says
I am so happy to land on your delicious blog, thanks for posting such amazing recipes. Living abroad makes me crave Indian food so much. Although I love to cook, I end up cooking same dishes all the time. I am sure your blog will help me diversify my taste palate with all these awesome dishes.
Xx
Saabri
http://www.phashionbug.com
Archana says
Thank you Saabri for your kind words. I hope you find some simple and healthy recipes on my blog.
Antonia says
Beautiful dish, it looks amazing!
Archana says
Thank you Antonia! Its a healthy one pot dish.
Sandhya says
Archana, I love bisi bele bhat and saying it over and over again too. Love the color of your masala! Yum!
btw, I got my IP and am trying all sorts of recipes in it too. Love it!
Archana says
Thank you Sandhya! Congrats on your Instapot! I am sure you must be enjoying the new cooking experience. Can’t wait to see some recipes from you!!
Diane says
I have to make this right now! What are drumsticks?
I don’t have curry leaves but I have curry leaf powder. How much should I use?
I have no tamarind paste. Can I sub something?
I have no chili peppers. Can I use chili powder? How much? I have everything else.
Thank you!
Archana says
Drumsticks are hardy beans they sell I Indian groceries, totally optional. 1/2 tsp of curry leaf powder or skip it. You can add a tsp of lemon juice instead of tamarind paste. And yes chili powder is good. Add 1 tsp first if you like spicy then add more. I think you will love it! Let me know!
Kalbap says
Quick and easy one pot comfort food!
Archana just one issue I have is that your recipe says it serves 6 but actually I made it on 2 occasions already and both the times I could easily say it serves at least 12 comfortably as an entree dish. 1 cup rice +3/4th cup toor dal + 6 cups water + lots of cut up veggies does make for a lot more than 6 serves.
Archana says
Thank you Kalyani! We possibly overeat this comfort rice dish! With 3 boys in the house, our serving sizes possibly are way too big (yikes) but yes, it can feed a lot more. Thanks for your feedback as always! I am so happy that you are enjoying new way of cooking in the Instant Pot.
Sofia Akhter says
Would be my first dish to try once I get the Insta pot!!!
Archana says
Hi Sofia! I wish you good luck in my giveaway!!
Victor tirumalai says
Is this recipe for a 6 QT/8 QT IP? I have a 3 QT IP and was wondering if this would fit that? Thanks.
Archana says
Hi Victor, I made this recipe in my 6-qt Instant pot. From what I hear you can easily make 3 cups of rice in the 3-qt. But between the rice, lentils, vegetables and 6 cups of water I think it might be too much for the 3-qt. You can def reduce all the ingredients in half and same pressure cook time if you would like to try this. Let me know!
Nilu says
Thank you for the recipe! It’s such a blessing to have bisi bele bhaath done in a jiffy.
Archana says
You are welcome Nilu! So happy you enjoyed the recipe.
Sarah says
What adjustments would be needed if using brown basmati rice? This recipe looks fabulous!
Archana says
Sarah, 22 minutes on high pressure with natural pressure release works well for brown basmati rice.
Radha says
This looks great!
2 questions :
The typical bisibele bath is a lot more mushy with a porridge like consistency! Is it a personal preference to make this a little on drier end?
Also, to cook lentils I never use Low pressure mode. How did u manage to get it cooked in this mode?
Thank u in advance
Archana says
With Low pressure mode, it takes longer for the Instant Pot to come to pressure which allow the daal to soak a bit and so it works well. As far as the texture, yes you can add extra 2 cups of water for a very mushy consistency.
Erica says
What if I wanted to use brown/green lentils because it is what I have? I know they take longer to cook. Could they be used? Thank you!
Archana says
Brown/green lentils will work well too! Same cook time.