From the recipe box
Sambar Rice
Rice, dal, legume, and soup formats cooked in a single vessel — the weeknight comfort lane.
- Protein
- Toor dal
- Meal format
- One-Pot Wonder
- Base
- Rice, Millets, Grains
Carrot, Frozen Peas, Squash, Bottle Gourd, Ash Gourd, Drumstick, Potato, Pumpkin, Green Beans, Brinjal, Okra
From my kitchenCook this meal
Ingredients & method
- Prep
- 15 mins
- Cook
- 28 mins
- Total
- 43 mins
- Serves
- 2
Rice & Dal
- ½ cuprice
- ½ cuptoor dal
Vegetables
- —Choose 2–3 cups of vegetables, chopped into bite-sized pieces:
- 1small carrot, diced
- ½ cupfrozen peas
- 1 cupsquash (chayote/chow chow or yellow squash), diced
Optional additions:
- 1 cupbottle gourd (lauki/sorakaya), diced
- 1 cupash gourd, diced
- 1drumstick, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1small potato, diced
- ½ cuppumpkin, diced
- ½ cupgreen beans, chopped
- ½ cupbrinjal (eggplant), diced
- ½ cupokra, sliced (cook separately and add later if using)
Pressure Cooking
- 2½–3 cupswater
- to tasteSalt
- ¼ teaspoonturmeric powder
- ½ teaspooncoriander powder
- ½ teaspoonred chili powder
Tempering
- 1 tablespoonghee
- ½ teaspoonmustard seeds
- ½ teaspooncumin (jeera) seeds
- 1 teaspoonchana dal
- 1 teaspoonurad dal
- 8–10curry leaves
A pinch of hing (asafoetida)
- 1½–2 teaspoonssambar powder
- 2 tablespoonstamarind juice
- ¼–½ cupwater
Step by step
Method
- 01
Add the rice and toor dal to a bowl and wash them 3 times with fresh water, gently rubbing the grains between your fingers. Drain well after the final rinse.
- 02
Transfer the washed rice, toor dal, and vegetables of your choice to the Instant Pot.
- 03
Add the water, salt, turmeric, coriander powder, and red chili powder. Stir well.
- 04
Close the lid, set the valve to Sealing, and cook on Pressure Cook (High) for 6 minutes.
- 05
Allow the pressure to release naturally for about 10 minutes, then carefully release any remaining pressure.
- 06
Open the lid and mash the rice, dal, and vegetables well using the back of a ladle or a potato masher. Add a little hot water if needed to reach your desired consistency.
- 07
Meanwhile, prepare the tempering. Heat the ghee in a small pan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the cumin seeds, chana dal, and urad dal, and sauté until the dals turn lightly golden.
- 08
Stir in the curry leaves and a pinch of hing. Add the sambar powder and sauté for a few seconds until fragrant.
- 09
Pour in the tamarind juice and a little water. Let the mixture simmer for 2–3 minutes so the raw flavor of the tamarind cooks away.
- 10
Pour the tempering into the Instant Pot and switch to Sauté (Low). Mix everything well and let the sambar rice simmer for 3–5 minutes, allowing the flavors to combine.
- 11
Garnish with a dollop of ghee before serving.
- 12
This hearty one-pot sambar rice is a complete meal on its own. It also pairs wonderfully with papad, pickle, plain yogurt.
- 13
Rajma Chawal
