Bisi bele huli anna

This is the real recipe for Bisi Bele Huli Anna as perfected by my mum and grandmum. It contains no vegetables and is a good idea on days when there are no vegetables at home. So, this is a recipe that serves four. This dish uses poppy seeds (known as khus-khus) and adds considerably to the taste of the dish.

Ingredients
Rice - 1.5 cups
Toor Dal - 3/4 cup
Tamarind - size of a small lemon
Dhania (Coriander seeds) - 2 tbsps
Fenugreek seeds (Methi) - 1/2 tbsp
Red Chillies - 15-20 nos. (varies depending on your taste)
Bengal Gram Dal (kadalai paruppu) - 1 tbsp
Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Poppy seeds (khus khus) - 1 tsp
Cloves - 6-7 nos.
Cinnamon - 2 inch piece
Grated Coconut - 4 tbsps
Salt to taste
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Gingelly Oil (Sesame Oil) - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves

Preparation time: 1.5 hours (approx.)

Method

1. Cook the rice and toor dal together (until the consistency is almost semi-solid) in a pressure cooker.
2. Soak tamarind and extract juice and keep aside.
3. Heat a deep frying pan, and roast the coriander, fenugreek and red chillies with a little bit of oil. Powder the roasted ingredients and keep aside.
   
4. In the same pan, roast the Bengal gram dal and the Urad dal with some oil. Remove from fire and put in a blender or food processor. Grind to a powder and keep aside.
   
5. Then roast the khus khus, cloves and cinnamon and add to the food processor. Grind these ingredients too and keep aside.
   
6. Dry roast the coconut and keep aside.
7. Heat a thick-bottomed deep dish casserole and heat half of the sesame oil in it. Add the mustard and let it splutter. Once the mustard splutters, add the asafoetida powder and the curry leaves.
8. Finally, add the tamarind juice, turmeric and salt to taste and boil until the raw smell of the tamarind disappears (about 5 mins).
9. Add the powdered coriander, fenugreek and red chillies and bring to a boil. Add the cooked rice and dal and stir well.
10. Now, add the powdered Bengal gram dal and urad dal and stir well. Add the grated coconuts and remove from fire.
11. Add the powdered khus-khus, cloves and cinnamon and mix well. Heat the remaining sesame oil separately and add to the rice. You can substitute the sesame oil at this stage with ghee(clarified butter) if you prefer. Transfer to a serving bowl.
12. Serve hot with appalams, chips or vegetables.