Sambar Sadham / Sambar Rice ~ Rice with Spiced Vegetables and Lentils

Even though other varieties of carbs / starches are slowly catching up, rice is still the staple food for most of South India. A South Indian at heart, that I am, I need my quota of rice at least every couple of days. My lunches are mostly rice with any gravy like sambar, rasam, erissery or some for of vegetable koottan and a vegetable stir fry as a side dish. Some days when I am lazy or when I really feel like it, I make a one pot rice dish so that just a little yogurt and some pickle on the side is more than good enough. Of the many one pot rice dishes I make, some of my favorites are sambar rice, khichdi, curd/yogurt rice, tomato rice and vegetable pulao. Sambar Sadham/Sambar Rice

1 cup rice 1/2 cup toor dal / pigeon peas 1 tsp oil 2 dried red chillies 5-6 curry leaves 1/2 tsp hing / asafetida 1 tsp mustard seeds 1/2 red onion, chopped 1 medium sized potato, peeled and cubed 1 carrot, cut in half lengthwise and then cut into small pieces 5-6 red pearl onions, peeled 1/2 cup any other vegetable, cubed – okra, small Indian eggplants etc 1 tomato, chopped 1 tsp turmeric powder 2-3 tbsp sambar powder a gooseberry sized ball of tamarind soaked in 1/2 cup water salt, to taste chopped fresh cilantro, to garnish 1 tbsp ghee/ clarified butter to serve on top

Heat the oil in the pan of a pressure cooker. Add the dried red chillies, curry leaves, asafetida and mustard seeds. Cover lightly and let the mustard seeds splutter. Add the onions (both red and pearl) at this point and sauté well. Add the tomato, turmeric powder and the sambar powder. Fry a little till the spices lose their raw smell. Do not wait for the tomatoes to get soft. Add the tamarind pulp now along with the other vegetables and give it a good mix. Wash the rice and pigeon peas well and add this to the pressure cooker as well. Add salt and pour in 3 cups of water. Pressure cook for 3 whistles and switch off the heat. Wait for the pressure to escape and open the cooker. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with a dollop of ghee on top and some fried papaddam/papads on the side. This is my entry to MLLA 21 hosted here on Mirch Masala. The previous editions of MLLA can be found here.