Sambar rice, also known as sambar sadam is one pot dish made with lentil, rice and spices. You can prepare this flavourful South Indian dish in a pressure cooker or instant pot with my simple and easy recipe. One pot pressure cooker meal

Sambar Sadam is lentil and rice one pot spicy meal you can easily cook in a pressure cooker or an instant pot. Learn to prepare South Indian Sambhar rice

I absolutely love the traditional Tamilnadu style sambar sadam. It has a fresh and flavorful ground masala that makes it aromatic and delicious. However, when I’m in a hurry, I opt for a quick version of sambar rice using sambar masala. This protein-packed meal is not only delicious but also healthy and easy to prepare.

The recipe for sambhar sadam is incredibly easy and this makes a delicious sambar rice. If you are looking for a rice recipe that is quick, vegan, gluten-free, packed with flavours this makes a perfect weeknight dinner. The best part is it’s one pot meal, no cleaning required and you can make it in instant pot or pressure cooker

Ingredients For Sambar Sadam

  • Rice– You can use any medium grain rice.
  • LentilsYellow pigeon peas also known as arhar dal, tuvar dal or toor dal.
  • Spices & Seasonings: Asafoetida, skinned urad dal(white), Whole dried red chillies, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, fresh coconut, salt, mustard seeds, curry leaves, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds. 
  • Vegetables: I have used carrots, beans, onions, eggplant in this recipe. But pumpkin, brinjal, drumsticks etc. 
  • Fats: Ghee or coconut oil as per your preference.

How to Make Sambar Rice

For making this you can use freshly ground sambhar masala. If you do not have time You can use store-bought sambhar powder.  I have shown the step by step processes of making sambar rice. 

How to make sambar rice – Step by Step

Fresh ground sambar masala

A) Making Fresh Masala

  1. In the mean time you can prepare fresh sambar masala for making sambar sadam.
  2. Add in a pan dry roast 2 tablespoons of coriander seeds, 1teaspoon cumin seeds, 1/4teaspoon methi dana, 1teaspoon skinned Urad dal and few red Kashmiri chillies.
  3. Roast them on slow heat for 2 minutes. Now add grated coconut and roast for 2 more minutes.
  4. Coconut is optional but tastes very nice so highly recommended.
  5. Allow to cool a bit and then make sambar powder.

B) cooking rice and dal:

cooking vegetables for sambar sadam  step by step
  1. Rinse 1 cup arhar dal/tuvar dal and 2 cup rice  a couple of times in water. Drain out the water and add both rice and dal in a pressure cooker.
  2. Add 1 tsp salt in the pressure cooker along with 3.5 cups of water.
  3. Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles in the pressure cooker.

C) To cook Vegetables

  1. First in a heat a pan and add 1tbsp ghee and then add mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, cumin seeds and white urad dal.
  2. Add chopped vegetables in the pan and saute them along for 3-4 minutes.
  3. Tip in salt, turmeric powder, red chilli and freshly ground sambar masala.
  4. Mix everything together and add 2 cups of water.
  5. Cover with a lid and cook for 7-8 minutes so that vegetables are cooked through.
Making sambar sadam or sambar rice
  1. Now after pressure release open the lid of the pressure cooker and add the entire content of this pan in the pressure cooker.
  2. Mix well and enjoy!
  3. For the enhanced taste heat one more tablespoon of ghee, in the pan add mustard seeds and curry leaves along with dried red chillies.
  4. Allow the mustard seeds to pop for few seconds and pour over tadka.
  5. Enjoy a warm bowl of sambar sadam.

Recipe Notes for Making Sambar Rice/Sambar Sadam

  1. I have used white rice for making the recipe, you can use brown rice or a mix of white rice and brown rice.
  2. You can change the vegetables used as per taste or availability. Avoid strong tasting ones.
  3. Freshly made sambar powder always taste best, but when in a pinch you can store-bought sambar powder.
  4. To make this vegan substitute ghee with coconut oil.

More Such Recipes To Try

Sambhar rice sadam
Sambhar rice sadam

Sambar Sadam Recipe – Lentil and Rice One Pot Meal

Discover how to make flavorful sambar rice with lentils and spices in this easy sambar sadam recipe. This one pot rice recipe is an easy dinner
5 from 6 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course entree, Main Course
Cuisine Indian, indian cuisine
Servings 6
Calories 345 kcal

Equipment

  • pressure cooker

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups Raw rice -3/4 cup
  • 1 cup pigeon peas toor dal/Tuvar dal
  • salt as per taste
  • 1 tablespoons tamarind paste
  • 1/4 teaspoons turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon Red chilli powder
  • 1 tablespoons ghee
  • 1 Onion (medium sliced)
  • 100 grams carrots chopped
  • 100 grams pumpkin chopped
  • 70 grams Tomato chopped
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2-3 red chilli
  • 1/5 teaspoon Hing/Asafoetida
  • 30 curry leaves

For Fresh Sambhar Masala

  • 2 Tablespoons Coconut nariyal
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds jeera
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds sarso/ rai
  • 2 teaspoon coriander seeds dhania
  • 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds methi dana

Instructions
 

Cooking rice and dal in Pressure Cooker

  • Wash rice and dal separately till water comes out clean.
  • In a pressure cooker add toor dal/ split pigeon peas, rice with salt and 3.5 cups of water. Cover with pressure cooker lid and cook for 3-4 whistles and allow the pressure to release naturally.
  • If you do not have traditional pressure cooker you can use instant Pot as described below.

Cooking Rice and Lentils In Instant Pot

  • Wash rice and dal separately till water comes out clean.
  • In the Inner pot of Instant pot add lentils, rice with salt and 3.5 cups of water. Cover with the lid and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes and allow the pressure to release naturally.

Making Fresh Sambar Masala

  • While lentil and rice are cooking you can prepare fresh sambar masala. This step is optional. Use it if you want to make freshly ground sambar powder otherwise you can skip it and use store bought sambar masala.
  • Add in a pan dry roast 2 tablespoons of coriander seeds, 1teaspoon cumin seeds, 1/4teaspoon methi dana, 1teaspoon skinned Urad dal and few red Kashmiri chillies. 
  • Roast them on slow heat for 2 minutes. Now add grated coconut and roast for 2 more minutes.
  • Coconut is optional but tastes very nice so highly recommended.
  • Allow to cool a bit and then make sambar powder.

Cooking Vegetables

  • First in a heat a pan and add 1tbsp ghee and then add mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, cumin seeds and white urad dal. 
  • Add chopped vegetables in the pan and saute them along for 3-4 minutes.
  • Tip in salt, turmeric powder, red chilli and freshly ground sambar masala. 
  • Mix everything together and add 2 cups of water.
  • Cover with a lid and cook for 7-8 minutes so that vegetables are cooked through. Add tamarind paste and mix.

Assemble Sambar Rice

  • Open the pressure cooker lid after releasing the pressure.
  • Mix in cooked vegetables with cooked lentils and rice in the pressure cooker.
  • Mix it gently and serve hot with a side of yogurt papad and a pickle for a perfect comfort meal.
  • You can do one additional step to enhance the taste.
  • Heat one more tablespoon of ghee, in the pan add mustard seeds and curry leaves along with dried red chillies.
  • Allow the mustard seeds to pop for few seconds and pour over tadka.

Notes

  1. I have used white rice for making the recipe, you can use brown rice or a mix of white rice and brown rice.
  2. You can change the vegetables used as per taste or availability. Avoid strong tasting ones.
  3. Freshly made sambar powder always taste best, but when in a pinch you can store-bought sambar powder.
  4. To make this vegan substitute ghee with coconut oil.

Nutrition

Calories: 345kcalCarbohydrates: 66gProtein: 8gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 27mgPotassium: 458mgFiber: 5gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 4738IUVitamin C: 128mgCalcium: 82mgIron: 2mg
Keyword brahmin style sambar sadam, sambar, sambar rice, south indian
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0 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Dear ms.kakar.
    Thanks for your delicious recipes.
    Keep posting. It’s really very good recepes.

  2. Hey, it just a regular South Indian dish. No Tamil Ayers or anybody has a monopoly on it. Various communities including dalits prepare and relish it.

    1. It may be the case, I am not a food historian to comment on that. I read it on various resources so thought to mention it. FYI i first ate that in a hotel.

  3. 5 stars
    “Sambar rice recipe is a Tamil Iyer recipe from Tamil cuisine of South India”.

    Thank you for the recipe and thank you again for crediting Saambaar properly to Tamil cuisine. However, just for information, Saambaar is common to all Tamils, yet there are different types, including Brahminical (minus onion, garlic etc) but Saambaar in itself is NOT brahminical. Thank you.

5 from 6 votes

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