Indian food is among the leading cuisines of the world. With every state, city, and even every home having its own recipes for thousands of dishes, you can imagine how the variety is mind-boggling.
Contrary to popular belief, Indian cuisine is not just about curry, chilies, and oil. There is probably no other cuisine in the world that includes as many healthy and diverse vegetables and spices.
In this article, we will look at how to make sambar rice also known as sambar sadam.
Sambar sadam is a popular lunch recipe from Tamil Nadu, a South Indian state.
The famous Indian delicacy is cooked with rice, dal, and vegetables mixed to make a unique combination, and is mostly eaten as a main course.
Below is how to make it.
Cooking rice and dal:
Rinse together 1 cup rice and ½ cup arhar dal (tuvar dal or pigeon pea lentils) a couple of times in water. Drain all the water and add both rice and dal to a pressure cooker.
Season with ¼ teaspoon salt.
Add 3 cups of water and 1 teaspoon sesame oil.
Pressure cook for 15 to 16 minutes on medium flame.
When the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid and check if the rice and dal are cooked together.
Mash lightly and keep aside covered. In case the dal is not cooked, then add some more water and pressure cook for some more time.
Making tamarind pulp:
Meanwhile, when the rice and dal are cooking, soak ½ tablespoon tightly packed tamarind in ⅓ cup hot water for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Later squeeze the tamarind pulp extract and keep aside.
Cooking veggies for sambar rice:
So when the dal and rice are cooking, you can also start to prep and cook the veggies. Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a pan.
Add ⅓ cup thickly sliced onions. You can also use pearl onions or shallots.
Saute for 1 minute on a low to medium flame.
Then add 5 to 6 curry leaves and 1 pinch of asafoetida (hing).
Saute for a couple of seconds then add ½ cup diced tomatoes.
Mix and saute tomatoes for 2 minutes.
Then add 1.5 cups chopped mixed veggies like french beans, carrots, capsicum, brinjal, pumpkin, and 1 medium to a large drumstick.
Saute the veggies for a minute.
Add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder.
Mix again very well.
Now add 2 to 2.5 cups of water or add as required.
Season with salt as per taste.
Stir well.
Cover the pan with a lid and cook the veggies on medium-low to medium flame for 16 to 18 minutes. Do check-in between.
Simmer till the veggies are almost cooked. Then add the tamarind pulp.
Next, add 1 tablespoon sambar powder. You can also add more sambar powder if you want. Mix very well.
Continue to cover and cook till the veggies are cooked well and the raw taste of tamarind goes away. So cook for a further 8 to 9 minutes on low to medium flame.
Do check at intervals. Simmer till the veggies are done and the raw taste of tamarind has gone away.
Making sambar rice:
When the veggies are cooked well, then add the lightly mashed dal and rice.
Mix everything very well. If you want a more liquid consistency in sambar rice then add some hot water at this step and then mix well.
Then add 1 tablespoon ghee. Ghee can be skipped if you want. mix again. Check the taste and add more salt if required.
Making tempering for sambar rice:
Heat 2 tablespoons of sesame oil in a tadka pan or a small frying pan. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and let them crackle.
Then add 3 to 4 dry red chilies, 12 to 15 curry leaves, and 1 generous pinch of asafoetida (hing).
Stir and fry till the red chilies change their color and become dark. Take care not to burn them.
Pour this tempering mixture on the sambar rice.
Mix very well.
Serve sambar sadam plain or you can accompany a side veggie dish, curd, pickle, or appalam (papadums). You can also add some ghee while serving sambar rice.
Recipe by the founder of Veg Recipes of India Dassana Amit.