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Bisi Bele Bath Pressure Cooker Split Pea Brown Rice Soup is a easy weeknight meal in one pot. Everything in the Pressure cooker. Vegan Glutenfree Indian Recipe
Bisi bele bath is a popular dish that is served in Southern India, usually in restaurants serving Udupi cuisine.
The traditional Bisi Bele Bath recipe is quite an elaborate process. The split peas, rice and vegetables are all cooked separately. There is also a special spice blend that needs to be either made from scratch or bought for this dish, along with the some non general grocery store ingredients like tamarind and curry leaves.
Today’s recipe is my One pot Pressure cooker version! Dry roast some spices to make a somewhat bisi bele bath spice blend, then put everything in the pressure cooker. 20 minutes later you have a meal! Serve with salads, papadums, potato chips or other crackers. Easier, faster and equally delicious.
The soup generally has a flavorful complex and sour flavor profile. Use whatever spices you have. A few here and there will still make a flavorful meal.
The soup thickens and thickens by the next day. See above.
More Dals from the blog.
Mung Bean and Black eyed Pea Dal
Toor dal with crisp cilantro
Sprouted Mung Bean Soup.
Bisi Bele Bath Pressure Cooker Split Pea Brown Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup split pigeon pea, toor dal or split yellow pea, washed and soaked for an hour
- 1/2 cup brown basmati rice, washed and soaked for an hour
- 1 dried red chili , or use red chili flakes to taste
- 2 tsp chana dal , or yellow split pea
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp shredded coconut, dried or fresh
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/8 tsp black pepper , or 4 black pepper corns
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 10 curry leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped onion , or sliced shallots
- 1 cup chopped tomato
- 2 tsp sambhar powder , or use 1.5 tsp coriander powder + 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp tamarind paste
- 1 to 1.5 cups chopped vegetables like green beans, carrots, eggplant, peas
- 2 Tbsp raw peanuts or use sunflower seeds to make nut-free
- 3/4 to 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Wash and soak the rice and dal if you haven’t already. Toast the spices: Heat a skillet over medium heat. Dry roast the red chili, 1/2 tsp split pea, coriander seeds until the split peas change color. 1 to 2 minutes. Add the coconut, mix and cook for 15 seconds. Cool, grind with cinnamon cardamom and keep aside.
- In a pressure cooker, heat oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add mustard and cumin seeds. Cook until they start to pop.
- Add curry leaves and onion. Mix, cook until translucent.
- Add tomato, ground spices, sambhar powder, turmeric and mix well. Cook until tomatoes are saucy.
- Add the tamarind, vegetables and peanuts and mix well.
- Drain the split peas and rice and add to the cooker. Add salt, sugar and 2 3/4 cup water. Close the lid and pressure cook for 1 whistle over medium heat, (2 minutes after the pressure indicator turns on), then reduce heat to low and cook for 15 mins((or cook for total 12 to 15 minutes on high pressure in Instant Pot or other pressure cooker). Let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid. Taste and adjust salt, spice, sour. Add lemon juice if needed. Garnish with cilantro and serve with papadums or crackers.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I am an avid user of your recipes, and have bought (and use) all three of your cookbooks! I am planning to try this recipe, but first have a question. I notice the ingredients list includes 2 tsp. chana dal. That seems like a very small amount! Can you please explain?
That’s 1/2 tsp Chana dal or split pea that is roasted with the whole spices. The rest is washed with the rice and then cooked. I updated the instructions to be clear.
Can the brown basmati be substituted with white? Is it a big difference in taste?
Thanks for all the wonderful dishes you prepare and you ideas are inspiring.
Use white. The problem is cooking with the dal which is going to take longer to cook, so white will be slightly overcooked. Soak the toot dal and pressure cook 8 mins
This soup is both outstanding in its flavors and textures and super forgiving!
Ended up not having Toor Dal like I thought, so used Channa Dal instead, and while that no doubt changed things up a good bit, the end result was great tasting and fun to eat on a chilly evening.