Sambar Rice Recipe

Sambar Rice also known as sambar sadam or sambar sadham is a South Indian comfort food. It is a nutritious wholesome meal made with rice, lentil, vegetables making it an one pot wonder meal.

Sambar Rice Recipe

One pot meal are always a life saver. Because you don't have to baby sit near the stove in cooking rice separately, masala for the rice separately, layering them and cooking them together. Just throw everything in a pressure cooker or a pot and they will take care of themselves.

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• About Sambar Rice Recipe
• Ingredients
• Step by Step Pictures
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Specially this sambar sadam is my absolute favourite, because it is loaded with lots of veggies, dal and rice. You don't need heavy accompaniment with this too. Just serve it with fried papad and pickle and you are in business.

About Sambar Rice Recipe

Sambar rice also known as sambar sadam is a comfort meal of many. Specially this Pressure cooker sambar rice is super easy and quick to put together. All goes into a pressure cooker to cook which makes it a perfect weekday easy lunch.

I make sambar rice atleast once a week for its convenience and health benefits. Since sambar rice has lots of vegetables and lentils added, I don't have to worry about any side dishes. It is a wholesome meal on itself.

I make my sambar rice in a pressure cooker which makes it even more convenient. You can saute all ingredients, pour water and cook and you have a hearty meal.

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When making sambar rice, the one thing you have to check is the consistency of the rice itself. Since sambar sadam has lentils added, it tends to get thicker as it sits.

So what i do is, make my sambar rice a little runny in the beginning. So as it rests the consistency will be perfect.

Always taste the water after adding rice and spices. You might need to adjust salt, jaggery and tamarind juice to your taste. I always use 1 part rice to ½ part lentil. You can reduce it if you prefer.

Homemade sambar powder adds the unique aroma to the rice, but you can use store bought as well.

Ingredients

• Rice - I used regular cooking rice, ponni rice for making my sambar rice. Basmati can be used but you have to adjust the water content else it may get too mushy.
• Lentil - toor dal is traditionally used in sambar rice, you can use moong dal too.
• Vegetables - a combination of mixed vegetables that you have in your fridge can be used. I used carrot, potato, brinjal, okra, pumpkin, raw banana, cucumber, snake gourd ,elephant yam in my sambar rice.
• Onions & Tomatoes - you can use shallots or regular onion. Chopped tomatoes is used.
• Seasonings - salt, jaggery and tamarind juice are the main seasoning.
• Spices - You can use only sambar powder. Or use a mix of spice powders like chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder along with sambar powder.
• Oil & Ghee - I like to cook my rice in oil and add ghee in the end as finishing touch which gives the aroma.

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Step by Step Pictures

Pre preparation

1)Prepare your vegetables and add them to water which prevents them from discolouring.

2)Wash rice and lentils in multiple changes of water and soak them in water for 15 minutes.

Tempering

3)Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add in the tempering ingredients and saute for a minute. Let them sizzle.

4)Now add in onions, tomatoes and toss well in the oil.

5)let them cook for 4 to 5 minutes.

Make Sambar Base

6)Add in all the spice powders. I am using chilli powder, sambar powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Let the spices bloom in the oil.

7)Now add in salt, jaggery. I used sugar instead of jaggery since I ran out of jaggery. But if you don't want to use sugar or jaggery, you can skip.

8)Now add in all the veggies all at once.

9)Mix it well with the onions, tomatoes and masala. You have to saute the veggies for atleast 5 minutes for the raw smell to leave.

10)Pour in water. Water level is mentioned in the recipe.

Pressure Cooking Sambar Rice

11)Pour in tamarind juice. You have to taste the water and adjust the tamarind, salt level.

12)Strain the water from rice and dal and add it into the cooker.

13)Bring this to a boil and cover the pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 5 whistle and simmer for 5 mins.

14)Now switch off the flame and let them steam escape all by itself. Now switch off the flame and let them steam escape all by itself.

15)Serve hot with papad.

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