Karnataka cuisines: Breakfast dishes good for lunch and dinner

Learn how to prepare masala dosa and bisi bele bath from celebrity chef Sihi Kahi Chandra as part of Deccan Herald and Prajavani's Cuisines of Karnataka series presented in association with Freedom Refined Sunflower Oil.

Masala dosa

Masala dosa is perhaps the most popular dish from Karnataka, and is relished worldwide. This breakfast dish has its origins in Mangalurean cuisine.

Ingredients

For the batter:

Two cups of parboiled rice
One cup dosa rice
One cup split black grams (urad dal)
Half cup split chickpeas (chana dal)
One teaspoon fenugreek seeds
Salt (as per taste)
Three teaspoons sugar
Two tablespoons rice flour

For red chutney:

Six to eight Guntur chillies
Ten cloves of garlic
Fried grams (uri kadle)

For coconut chutney:

Half a cup grated coconut
Fried grams (uri kadle)
Tamarind
An inch of ginger
Coriander leaves
Six green chillies
Salt (as per taste)
Mustard seeds

For aloo palya:

Three boiled and mashed potatoes
One cup diced onion
Eight green chillies (sliced into two)
Milk
Butter
Mustard seeds
Turmeric
Coriander leaves
Salt (as per taste)

Recipe

Method to prepare batter:

Soak one cup dosa rice, one cup urad dal, half cup chana dal and one teaspoon fenugreek seeds in water for around eight hours. Then grind them together to get a smooth batter. Let the batter rest for another eight hours to allow it to ferment.

Method to prepare red chutney:

Take water in a pan and bring it to a boil. To the boiling water add, six to eight Guntur chillies, ten cloves of garlic
Remove the chillies and garlic cloves and transfer it to a mixer grinder. Add some fried grams and a pinch of salt. Grind it to a coarse paste.

Method to prepare coconut chutney:

Grind half a cup of grated coconut, little bit of fried gram, a small piece of tamarind, an inch of ginger, coriander leaves, six green chillies, a pinch of salt (as per taste) into a fine paste.

For the oggarane, take Freedom Refined Sunflower Oil in a frying pan, heat it. To the hot oil, add mustard seeds, once it crackles add curry leaves. Add this to the coconut chutney.

Method to prepare aloo palya:

In a frying pan, add some Freedom Refined Sunflower Oil, two tablespoons butter and heat it. Then add mustard seeds, add sliced chillies and diced onions. Once the onions change colour, add a pinch of turmeric, add the mashed potatoes. Mix well and add a little bit of milk. Keep it on low flame and cook till the milk is absorbed.

Then add some salt (as per taste). Garnish it with some coriander leaves.

Method to prepare masala dosa:

Take some water in a bowl, add salt (as per taste) and three teaspoons of sugar, two tablespoons of rice flour and mix well to form a thin batter. Pour it into the fermented batter. Give it a good mix.

Heat a dosa tava well. Sprinkle some water and wipe it with an onion.

Take a ladle of batter, pour it at the center of the tava and quickly spread the batter in circular direction, starting from the centre till it reaches the end of the tava. Ensure that it remains circular in shape.

Add one to two teaspoons of oil. Coat it with the red chutney.

When it turns slightly brown, flip it and cook the other side. Flip it back and place some aloo palya at the center. Fold the dosa or roll it over the palya.

Enjoy your crispy masala dosa with some butter and coconut chutney. You may also have it with sambar.

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Bisi bele bath

Bisi bele bath

This wholesome, delicious dish has its origins in the royal kitchens of the Mysuru palace. According to food historian K T Acharya, bisi bele bath was originally prepared without any vegetables and was derived from a 10th-century dish called kattaogara, which was prepared by mixing rice with ghee, salt and garlic.

Ingredients

For bisi bele bath powder:

Three tablespoons split chickpea (chana dal)
Three tablespoons split black gram (urad dal)
Six to eight tablespoons coriander seeds
Four to five Guntur chillies
Eight Byadagi chillies
Half teaspoon fenugreek seeds
Half teaspoon poppy seeds
Ten inches of cinnamon
Ten cloves
Half teaspoon jeera seeds
Half teaspoon mustard seeds
A pinch of turmeric powder
Asafoetida

For bisi bele bath:
One cup of rice
One cup yellow pigeon peas (toor dal)
Around two cups diced vegetables of your choice
Cashew nuts
Coriander leaves
Asafoetida
Curry leaves
Tamarind pulp
Half cup grated coconut
Diced tomatoes
Diced capsicum
Ghee
Freedom Refined Sunflower Oil

Recipe

Add a few drops of oil to a frying pan. To this add chana dal, urad dal and then roast it well till the lentils turn brown. Then add coriander seeds. After a while add cinnamon, cloves and continue roasting.

Add fenugreek seeds, poppy seeds, roast them well. Transfer into a plate and let it cool.

To the same frying pan, add Guntur chillies (for spice) and Byadgi chillies (for colour). Toss them a little. Add jeera, roast it.

Transfer them into the plate containing the roasted lentils. Add turmeric and asafoetida. After it cools, grind them to get a fine powder. Keep it aside.

In a pressure cooker, take eight cups of water and bring it to a boil. Add the diced vegetables. Then add washed rice, and an equal quantity of washed toor dal. Add a pinch of turmeric and half a teaspoon of ghee. Let it boil.

Once it starts boiling, close the lid. Turn off the stove after two whistles and let the rice cool.

In the meantime, take half a cup of grated coconut, three tablespoons of the bisi bele bath powder along with a little water in a mixer grinder and grind it to a fine paste.

Once the cooked rice is cooled, mix the contents well and add the ground paste along with some salt. Then add one tablespoon of bisi bele bath powder, little bit of water, mix well and bring it to a boil on low flame.

Take a pan and add two teaspoons of oil and heat it. First add deseeded cubes of capsicum, fry it a little, then add deseeded cubes of tomatoes.

Add the fried tomatoes and capsicum to the cooked rice. To prepare the oggarane, take two tablespoons of ghee in a frying pan and heat it. To it add a pinch of asafoetida and a pinch of mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add cashew nuts. Then add curry leaves.

Once the cooked rice begins to boil, add tamarind pulp followed by the oggarane. Finally garnish with coriander leaves. Relish your hot and delicious bisi bele bath.