Bele Huli

in Roti and Rice

This one pot meal should be enjoyed on Sundays and holidays, when everybody sits down to eat a relaxed lunch or dinner.  Also known as sambar rice, its a mixture of rice and dal in tamarind gravy of spices and vegetables. This is made in locally available Ponni raw rice or Jeeraga samba rice. Other types of rice,too can be used .

Recipe taken from Cook and see part – 2.

Ingredients

  • Rice 1 cup,
  • Red gram dal ½ cup,
  • Salt 3 teaspoons
  • Tamarind size of a big lemon or20 grams
  • Oil 2 teaspoon,
  • Ghee 2 teaspoon,
  • Red chillies 12,
  • Green chillies 4,
  • Fenugreek seeds 1 teaspoon,
  • Coriander seeds 1 tablespoon,
  • Mustard 2 teaspoon,
  • Cashew nuts 12,
  • Coconut grated ½ cup to 1 cup
  • Curry leaves few,
  • Coriander leaves sprigs,
  • Masala powder 1 teaspoon,
  • Vegetables : shallots peeled 1/4 cup, brinjals, drumstick, potato, carrot, radish beans, pumpkin, ashgourd,  chow chow knol khol etc (any one or combination of the vegetables) ½ cup (chopped medium size).

Method

  1. Soak the red gram dal and rice for 10 minutes.
  2. Shallow fry cashew nuts in 2 teaspoon of ghee. Keep aside.
  3. Shallow  fry coriander seeds, red chillies, fenugreek seeds, coconut gratings in 2 teaspoon of oil, to reddish brown and powder smooth.
  4. Cook the dal (very soft) and the rice.
  5. In a deep frying pan heat ghee, Add mustard, curry leaves and green chillies. Add vegetables and stir well.
  6. Soak the tamarind in 1 cup water for 10 to 15 minutes. Extract juice from tamarind and add to the vegetables.
  7. When the tamarind boils well, and the vegetables are three fourths cooked, add the coriander seed – red chilli  powder and boil again.
  8. Add masala powder too and cook for some time – 6 to 8 minutes.
  9. Add cooked dal and rice and mix well. if the rice dal mixture is little hard , add little water and mix.
  10. The belahuli  will be of loose consistency, when hot and thicken when cool.
  11. Top it with cashew nuts and coriander leaves.
  12. Serve with appalam or papads.

Method of making masala powder

  1. Shallow fry in 1 teaspoon of oil, anise seeds ½ teaspoon, khus khus seeds or poppy seeds 1 teaspoon, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves 4 each to a fine powder. Add to the belahuli.
  2. Gingelly oil alone could be used or ghee too could used liberally to get a rich taste.
  3. The above recipe can be made in pressure cooker adding all the ingredients together. The Vegetables can be sauted in the pressure pan, tamarind extract added, along with powders, rice and dal three extra cups of water too. Cook for three whistles and when cool garnish with cashew nuts and coriander leaves.
  4. This dish can be made without adding any vegetables too.
  5. For a tangy belahuli, make a thicker tamarind extract,adding more tamarind.
  6. Drizzle more ghee over the belahuli for a richer taste.
  7. A handful of boondi over the belahuli tastes heavenly.