Udupi Bisi Bele Bath

Udupi style hot lentil rice — rice and toor dal pressure-cooked together with vegetables (drumstick, raw banana, brinjal, beans, and tomato), tamarind, and a freshly ground bisi bele bath masala powder (roasted chana dal, urad dal, dried red chilli, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, marathi mokku, and stone flower) until everything merges into a thick, unified, deeply spiced porridge. Finished with a generous tempering of ghee, cashews, curry leaves, and mustard seeds poured over the top. The Udupi version uses more tamarind and fresh coconut in the masala than the Mysore version, giving it a more sour character; no onion is used. Eaten piping hot (bisi bele = hot lentil in Kannada) with a side of cooling curd or papad. The most complete single-pot meal in Karnataka cooking: lentils, rice, vegetables, and spices in one pot.