Quinoa Bisibelebath/Bisi Bele Bath recipe is a healthy, delicious one-pot meal made with quinoa, lentils, and mixed vegetables in an Instant pot pressure cooker or stovetop. It tastes amazing when served with Kara bhoondi, potato chips, or papad.
Bisi bele bath is a very popular breakfast/lunch recipe from Karnataka (South India). In Kannada, Bisi means hot, bele means lentil, and bath means rice.
Quinoa is a super grain, high in protein, gluten-free, and a great source of fiber. Due to its health benefits recently, we have replaced rice with quinoa in our daily meals. My family loves this one-pot Quinoa Bisibelebath recipe prepared in the Instant pot, which has a good amount of vegetables, protein, and carbs and is so delicious!
Today I am sharing Instant Pot and Stovetop Pressure Cooker ways of making Quinoa Bisi bele bath recipes.
Check out the traditional Bisibelebath recipe prepared in an Instant Pot using rice from my blog.
The secret to making Bisi Bele Bath is to make the masala powder fresh at home. These days, Bisi bele bath powder is readily available in stores. If you do not have the time and are running late, you may easily buy Bisi Bele Bhat Masala at your nearest Indian grocery store. I usually use MTR Bisibelebath Masala.
The authentic Bisi bele bath recipe is made without onion, garlic, and tomatoes. I have used onion in this recipe.
What Is Quinoa?
Quinoa, pronounced 'keen-wa,' is a gluten-free, whole-grain carbohydrate, as well as a whole protein (meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids).
Health Benefits of Quinoa
- Very High in Protein, With All the Essential Amino Acids
- Very High in Fiber, Much Higher Than Most Grains
- Gluten-Free and Perfect for People With Gluten Intolerance.
- Has a Low Glycemic Index, Which is Good for Blood Sugar Control
- Quinoa appears to be very high in antioxidants. Sprouting increases their antioxidant levels even further. - Source Healthline
Is Quinoa better than Rice
Both food's calories come primarily from their carbohydrate content, and a serving of brown rice or quinoa offers 39 or 44.8 grams of carbohydrates, respectively. However, quinoa provides more dietary fiber and protein than brown rice.
| 1 CUP COOKED | CALORIES | FAT (G) | CARBS (G) | FIBER (G) | PROTEIN (G) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinoa | 222 | 4 | 39 | 5 | 8 |
| Brown Rice | 216 | 1.8 | 44.8 | 3.5 | 5 |
Ingredients
How to Make Quinoa Bisibelebath Recipe in Instant Pot
Firstly, chop all the vegetables and onion. Keep aside.
Meanwhile, soak the tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes. Extract pulp and keep aside.
Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Add ghee or oil, and once it's hot, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida, and let it splutter.
Next, add onions, ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 2-3 minutes until they turn soft and light brown – stir regularly.
Add mixed vegetables and cook for a minute.
Furthermore, add Bisi bele bath powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, tamarind extract, jaggery, and salt. Mix well and keep stirring; else, the mixture may get burnt.
Next, add washed toor dal (lentils), quinoa, water, and give a stir.
Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes.
Once the pot beeps, Do a NATURAL PRESSURE RELEASE (NPR).
After that, remove the lid and garnish it with coriander leaves. Mix well. I like my quinoa Bisi bele bath to be mushy and liquid consistency.
So, Turn on the SAUTE mode again, add 1 cup of water (depending on your preference). Boil for 2-3 minutes. Quinoa Bisibelebath is ready. Add extra tempering (tadka) again, and it's completely optional.
Lastly, Serve instant pot pressure cooker quinoa bisi bele bath/bisibelebath recipe hot with Kara bhoondi, pickle, raita, or papad.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
- Chop all the vegetables and onion. Keep aside. Meanwhile, soak tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes. Extract pulp and keep aside.
- Heat ghee in a pressure cooker pan, once hot, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, and asafetida & let it splutter.
- Add onions, ginger-garlic paste, Saute for 2-3 minutes until they turn soft and light brown – stir regularly. Add mixed vegetables and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Then add washed toor dal (lentils), quinoa, water, salt, and give a stir. Close the lid.
- Pressure cook for 4 whistles in low, medium flame. Once pressure has naturally released, add Bisi bele bath powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, tamarind juice, jaggery, and adjust the consistency by adding extra water and boil for 5 minutes.
- For Tempering: Add ghee in a tadka pan, add mustard seeds curry leaves, hing, and red chilies let it splutter. Add peanuts or cashews and fry until browned. Add the tadka to the quinoa Bisi bele bath and mix well.
- Serve hot with Kara bhoondi, pickle, raita, or papad.
Variations and Substitutes
- Vegetables: You can add other vegetables of your choice, like drumstick, brinjal (eggplant), sweet potato, pearl onions, pumpkin, and squash, to make this quinoa bisi bele bath recipe.
- Tanginess: If tamarind is unavailable, you can replace it with one tomato or juice of 1 lemon.
- Adjust Consistency: Add an extra ½ to 1 cup of water for a more khichdi-like consistency.
- Vegan: Adding ghee for tempering gives the best flavor, If you are a vegan, substitute it with oil.
- Other Grains: Substitute quinoa with millets, rice, buckwheat, and the pressure cooking time remains the same.
- Brown Rice: Substitute quinoa with brown basmati rice and increase pressure cook time to 20-22 minutes.
- Spice Powder: If you don’t have bisi bele bath powder, you can replace it with 2 tablespoons of sambhar powder and 1 tablespoon of vangibath powder. These powders are easily available in Indian grocery stores or on Amazon.
- Lentils Ratio: You can also increase the quality of lentils (dal) from ½ to ¾ cups for 1 cup of quinoa to make it healthier.
More Indian Quinoa Recipes
Quinoa Bisibelebath - Pressure Cooker
Equipment
Ingredients
Measuring cup used 1 cup = 250 ml
- 1 cup quinoa rinsed
- ½ cup toor dal/split pigeon peas
- 2 tablespoon oil or ghee
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 stalk curry leaves
- a pinch hing (asafetida)
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste (optional)
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 2.5 cups mixed vegetables (carrot, beans, peas, potato and bell pepper)
- 2 tablespoon tamarind extract (extracted by soaking lemon sized tamarind)
- 2-3 tablespoon bisibelebath powder (I used MTR brand)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder(haldi)
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon jaggery optional
- salt to taste
- 4 cups water
- 2 tablespoon coriander leaves (cilantro)
Additional Tempering: (Optional)
- 1 tablespoon ghee or oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- few cashew-nuts
- 2-3 red dry chilles
- few curry leaves
- a pinch hing (asafetida)
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- Firstly, chop all the vegetables and onion. Keep aside.
- Meanwhile, soak the tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes. Extract pulp and keep aside.
- Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Add ghee or oil and once it's hot, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida, and let it splutter.
- Next, add onions, ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 2-3 minutes until they turn soft and light brown – stir regularly.
- Add mix vegetables and cook for a minute.
- Furthermore, add Bisi bele bath powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, tamarind extract, jaggery, salt. Mix well and keep stirring; else, the mixture may get burnt.
- Next, add washed toor dal (lentils), quinoa, water, and give a stir.
- Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes.Once the pot beeps, Do a NATURAL PRESSURE RELEASE (NPR).
- After that, remove the lid and garnish with coriander leaves. Mix well. I like my quinoa Bisi bele bath to be mushy and liquid consistency.
- So, Turn on the SAUTE mode again, add 1 cup of water (depending on your preference). Boil for 2-3 minutes. Quinoa Bisibelebath is ready. Add extra tempering (tadka) again, and it's completely optional.
- Lastly, Serve instant pot pressure cooker quinoa bisi bele bath/bisibelebath recipe hot with Kara bhoondi, pickle, raita, or papad.
Indian Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
- Chop all the vegetables and onion. Keep aside. Meanwhile, soak tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes. Extract pulp and keep aside.
- Heat ghee in a pressure cooker pan, once hot add mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafetida & let it splutter.
- Add onions, ginger-garlic paste, Saute for 2-3 minutes until they turn soft and light brown in color – stir regularly. Add mix vegetables and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Then add washed toor dal (lentils), quinoa, water, salt, and give a stir. Close the lid.
- Pressure cook for 4 whistles in low medium flame. Once pressure has naturally released add Bisi bele bath powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, tamarind juice, jaggery, and adjust the consistency by adding extra water and boil for 5 minutes.
- For Tempering: Add ghee in a tadka pan add mustard seeds curry leaves, hing, red chilies let it splutter. Add peanuts or cashews fry until browned. Add the tadka to quinoa Bisi bele bath and mix well.
- Serve hot with Kara bhoondi, pickle, raita, or papad.
Notes
Variations and Substitutes
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- You can use vegetables of your choice like Drumstick, Brinjal (eggplant), Sweet potato, pearl onions, pumpkin, and squash to make this quinoa Bisi bele bath recipe.
- If tamarind is not available you can replace it with 1 tomato or juice of 1 lemon.
- Add an extra ½ to 1 cup of water for a more khichdi-like consistency.
- If you don’t have bisi bele bath powder you can replace it with 2 tablespoons of sambhar powder and 1 tablespoon of vangibath powder. These powders are easily available in Indian grocery stores. Or replace it with Curry Powder.
- You can also increase the quality of lentils (dal) from ½ to ¾ cup for 1 cup of quinoa to make it more healthy.
- Instead of using ghee for tempering, you can use oil, vegans can avoid ghee.
- Substitute quinoa with millets and pressure cooking time remains the same.
- Substitute quinoa with brown rice and increase pressure cook time to 20-22 minutes.
Nutrition
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lee says
" I'm cutting on rice and this article gave me a bright idea of what substitute is best
"
bhavana says
thanks lee glad it was helpfull
Sushma Sudarshan says
Best recipe
bhavana says
Thank you sushma 🙂