Bassaru
- 55 min
- medium
- Serves 4
Bassaru is a thin Karnataka gravy of toor dal and spinach broth with a roasted chilli, onion and coconut paste. Medium-spicy, serves 4, about 55 minutes.
You’ll need: Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
Tamarind, Soaked5 grams
Water, For Cooking700 ml
Toor Dal½ cup
Spinach, Roughly Chopped300 grams
Tomato, Quartered2
Garlic, Peeled18 grams
Turmeric Powder1 grams
Dry Red Chilli, De-stemmed4 grams
Cumin1½ tsp
Onion, Slices100 grams
Coconut, Grated15 grams
Salt1½ tsp
Oil1 tsp
Mustard Seeds½ tsp
Curry leaves2 grams
Asafoetida0.5 grams
Contains: wheat.
Nutrition
Per 1 person, and for all 4 people. Worked out from the ingredients, so treat it as a close guide.
| Nutrient | Per 1 person | All 4 people |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 171kcal | 684kcal |
| Protein | 8.7g | 35g |
| Carbohydrate | 27g | 107g |
| Fat | 4.2g | 17g |
| Fibre | 7.7g | 31g |
| Sugar | 3.8g | 15g |
Method
Wash the spinach and dal well. Chop the spinach, quarter the tomatoes, peel the garlic and slice the onion. Remove the stems from four dry chillies, and break the remaining chilli for tempering. Soak the tamarind in 50 ml warm water for 10 minutes and squeeze out the juice.
Add the dal, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, turmeric powder and water to a pressure cooker. Cook on medium flame for 3 whistles, then let the pressure release naturally for about 10 minutes. The dal must be soft and the greens fully cooked.
Strain the cooked mixture and keep the cooking broth aside. Dry roast the 4 dry chillies and cumin in a small kadai on low flame for 1 minute, add the sliced onion and coconut and roast for 2 to 3 minutes until the onion softens and smells roasted. Cool a little, then grind with the cooked tomatoes, garlic, 2 tablespoons of the dal-spinach mixture, the tamarind juice and water until smooth. Keep the remaining dal and spinach for palya or serve them on the side.
Mix the ground paste with the reserved cooking broth in a kadai. Add salt and the water for adjusting consistency. Boil on medium flame for 8 to 10 minutes until the raw smell goes and the bassaru is light and pourable.
Heat oil in a small kadai on medium flame for 1 minute until hot. Add mustard seeds and fry for 1 minute until they splutter. Add cumin, broken dry chilli, curry leaves and asafoetida, then fry for 1 minute until the cumin is lightly browned and the curry leaves are crisp. Pour the tempering into the bassaru.
Simmer the bassaru on low flame for 2 minutes until it bubbles gently and the tempering mixes in. Serve hot with ragi mudde or rice.
Before you start
- How long does Bassaru take?
- 55 minutes from start to finish. That is 15 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking.
- How many people does Bassaru serve?
- 4. The ingredient quantities on this page rescale if you are cooking for a different number.
- Is Bassaru vegetarian?
- Yes. No meat, no fish and no egg.
- Is Bassaru spicy?
- It is medium: 2 on our scale of 3. Chilli scales gently when you change the servings, so doubling the recipe does not double the heat.
- What do I need to make Bassaru?
- 5 grams Tamarind, ½ cup Toor Dal, 300 grams Spinach, 18 grams Garlic, 1 grams Turmeric Powder, 4 grams Dry Red Chilli, and a few more listed on this page.
- Do I need a pressure cooker for Bassaru?
- Yes, this one is cooked under pressure.
- How many calories are in Bassaru?
- About 171 a serving. The full nutrition table is on this page, per serving and for the whole batch.
Tips from other cooks
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