Recipe: SAMBAR RICE

It is definitely a bit more exotic than the title makes it sound. And pretty simple to make too. It tastes yummy! You can either have it with fried pappadams or raita. :)

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 cup
Tur Dal – 2/3 cup
Tamarind – 1 small ball the size of a lemon
Onion – 1 (chopped)
Tomato – 1 (chopped - you can use 250 gm of sambar onions skinned as an alternative)
Rai – 1 tsp
Curry leaves (kadipatta) – a few
Oil – 3 tsp
Ghee – 1 tsp
Salt and haldi to taste

Masala:

Channa Dal – 3 tsp
Dhania – 3 tsp
Methi seeds – ½ tsp
Red chillies – 6
Black pepper – ½ tsp
Grated coconut - 4 tbsp

Optional:

Yellow pumpkin – 200 gm (cut into cubes)
Sweet potato – 100 gm (cut into cubes)
Drumstick – 1 (cut into 2 inch pieces)
Radish – (skinned and cut into round slices)
Peas – 200 gm (shelled)
Carrots – 1 (cut into cubes)
Beans – 50 gms (stringed and cut into ½ inch pieces)

Method:

Step 1: Cook rice and tur dal together in the pressure cooker with a cup of extra water than usually used.
Step 2: Squeeze tamarind with water and remove about 2-3 cups of tamarind water.
Step 3: Shallow fry the items for masala to a golden brown. Add the items one by one to the oil in the following order: channa dal, dhania, black pepper, methi seeds, red chillies and coconut. Please ensure that nothing turns black.
Step 4: In a saucepan, heat 2 spoons of oil and add onions and fry till gold in colour. Add tomatoes and then the tamarind water. You can add any or all of the optional vegetables as per your own choice. Then add salt and haldi to this mixture and allow it to boil for 10-12 minutes on medium flame.
Step 5: Grind the now cooled masala mixture into a smooth paste.
Step 6: Add this to the tamarind and vegetable mix and continue to stir so that the masala does not form lumps. Allow this to boil for about 3 minutes. This is the sambar mixture.
Step 7: Add the spoon of ghee to the cooked rice and dal and pour the sambar mixture on to it and mix gently. Or the rice and dal will become a paste. After mixing completely, keep the pressure cooker on the gas and cook for a couple of minutes without covering.
Step 8: Garnish with coriander leaves and season with rai, kadipatta and your sambar rice is ready to eat.