Sambhar Sadam

 

Sambhar sadam aka sambhar rice is an easy breezy one pot meal from Tamilnadu region and as the name suggests rice and mixed vegetable sambhar are prepared together here. However in the taste department, I put sambhar sadam a couple of levels higher than the the mundane sambhar and rice combo. It tastes delicious and can be prepared with the common ingredients found in any Indian kitchen. One can use any combination of vegetables that usually work in a sambhar dish.
I didn't know this particular dish was called sambahr sadam until a few years ago. My sister-in-law cooks this dish with masoor dal exactly the same way and calls it khichdi. Masoordal and rice cook almost at the same time and quickly. And so that version doesn't even need a pressure cooker. 
And also wanted to add that a sambhar sadam is not the bisibelebhath of Karnataka. Technically huli (as in bisibelehulianna) and sambhar are supposedly one and the same. However a sambhar sadam and bisibelebhath are not. The spice powders that go into these dishes makes them entirely different dishes. An authentic bisibelebhath dish doesn't have onions and also doesn't taste the same as sambhar sadam.  

Ingredients:
1.5 cups rice
3/4 cup toordal
1/8 tsp turmeric powder 
2 cups chopped mixed vegetables (I used beans, carrot, potato and green peas)
1 Onion, chopped fine
2 Tbsp sambhar powder
Salt to taste 
Tamarind puree to taste (I left out the quantity on purpose since the levels of sourness preferred varies. Soak a lemon sized tamarind and extract the puree.)
Minced cilantro to garnish

Ingredients for tadka:
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
A pinch of asafoetida / hing
A sprig of curry leaves

Method:
1. Wash rice and dal separately, drain and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan or a small pressure cooker directly and add the tadka ingredients. When mustard seeds start to pop, add onion and fry until translucent. 
* At this point if using a pressure cooker, you can add vegetables, rice, dal, turmeric powder and about 5 cups of water, put the weight on and cook for upto 3 whistles. 
The dal I get locally doesn't cook at the same time as rice does and so I cook rice and dal separately in a pressure cooker.
* If you don't own a pressure cooker, you can add dal and turmeric powder to the pan adding sufficient water.When it is half cooked, add rice and vegetables and continue to cook until done, adding water intermittently as needed.

*  Whatever method you use, basically you need the rice cooked, dal cooked until mushy and the vegetables cooked but not mushy.
3. Add the cooked rice, dal, vegetables, salt, sambhar powder and tamarind paste to the onion mixture. Add water if needed and taste the mixture. adjust the seasonings if needed. Bring the mixture to a boil and turn off the stove. 
4. Garnish with cilantro and serve with papad / chips.

Check here to find out what other marathoners are cooking during blogging marathon #29.


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