Quinoa Bisibele Huli

Quinoa bisibele huli served with saggubiyyam / sago vadiyalu

Bisibelebhath or bisibelehulianna is one of the well known rice-lentil preparations from Karnataka. Bisi = hot, bele = lentil, bhath/anna = rice, in Kannada. Huli in Kannada can mean either the sourness or a lentil preparation equivalent to sambhar.
Since there is no rice in the following version, I have left out the bhath from the title.

Quinoa works well in many dishes or cuisines for that matter because of it's adaptability factor. Here is one more example of this super grain's versatility. I tried replacing rice with quinoa in bisibele bhath - a classic, signature dish of Karnataka and had enjoyed it thoroughly. Nutrient rich quinoa combined with hearty toordal, vegetables, aromatic & flavorful spice mixture turned our favorite BBB into a scrumptious and wholesome meal.

Ingredients for 6 generous servings:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup toordal
• About 2 cups chopped vegetables (I used 2 small carrots, 1 potato, 2 tomatoes, a handful of fresh peas and 25 -30 green beans)
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Tamarind puree - 1 Tbsp (optional)
• Salt to taste 2 .5 tsp

For bisibele bhath masala: 3 tsp chanadal, 1.5 tsp uradadal, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 3-4 cinnamon pieces, 6 pieces of moggu, 20 red dried chillies, a few tbsp copra (store bought bisibelebhath powder can be substituted though it is not the real deal and even the worldwide known brand from Karnataka doesn't do any justice to BBB.)

For tadka: 3 -4 Tbsp ghee, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 2 Tbsp cashews, few curry leaves

Method:
* Wash quinoa and rice thoroughly and drain the water. Add the rice, quinoa, vegetables, turmeric powder and about 4 cups of water to a pressure cooker directly and cook till they are done. Alternatively, cook in a sturdy pot.
* Meanwhile add chanadal and uraddal to a sauté pan and on medium heat, dry roast them. When they start to change their color add the rest of the masala ingredients and toast till the coriander seeds start to turn a few shades darker and the dals turn reddish. Turn off the heat and cool the toasted masala ingredients. Once cool, grind them into a fine powder.
* When the valve pressure is gone, remove the cooker lid. Add the ground bisibelebhath powder, salt, tamarind to the cooked quinoa - dal and mix well. Add (about a cup of) water to adjust the consistency. Let the mixture come to a boil and then simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes.
* Meanwhile, heat ghee in a small sauté pan. Add the tadka ingredients and toast till the cashews turn golden brown. Remove from heat and add the tadka to the cooked bisibele huli and mix well.
Serve with papads, chips or kara boondi.

Other bisibelebhaths posted here:
With Poha
With Cracked Wheat
With Brown Rice