Talk of South Indian cuisine and it's never complete without the mention of the quintessential sambar. A south Indian vegetarian stew, made of pulses and vegetables, sambar is perhaps one of the most comforting dishes around. It is paired with almost everything from idli and dosa to vada and uttapam. Besides being a soothing bowl of deliciousness, sambar is brimming with wholesome goodness. Since it is made with dals, it comes loaded with proteins, the building blocks of the body. Besides this, the dal based stew is high in vitamins and minerals like iron, zinc, folate and magnesium, and the spices and herbs in sambar pack in a number of health benefits too like facilitating weight loss, promoting good digestion and boosting immunity.
(Also Read: Benefits Of Sambar: 6 More Reasons To Love The South Indian Sensation)
While you must've had sambar paired with some of the other south Indian staples, did you know you can have a bowlful of this savoury stew as a wholesome meal along with rice? Sambar sadam or sambar rice is a one-pot dish from Tamil cuisine which is quite a staple across the region. A quick fix for hunger pangs, sambar sadam is traditionally just sambar and rice cooked together in a comforting wholesome meal that is high on both flavour and health.
Every home has a different recipe to make sambar rice but the basic, authentic style remains the same. A mix of lentils, rice, mixed veggies, spices and herbs but you can add or alter spices and veggies according to your taste. It is also quite similar to Karnataka's Bisi Bele Bath but the difference lies in the spices used.
How To Make Sambar Sadam | Sambar Rice Recipe
(Also Read: 6 Best Sambar Recipes)
The recipe of sambar sadam is very simple and can be prepared in a jiffy. For the recipe, you need to pressure cook rice and dal together and mix them with cooked veggies and freshly made tamarind pulp. The process of cooking all three can be done side by side. You can choose veggies of your choice, toss them up with sambar powder along with other spices and herbs. Mix all of it together, top with a crackling tempering and serve hot! Isn't it simple, quick and absolutely delicious?!
Find the full recipe of Sambar Rice (Sambar Sadam) here.
You can serve this with tomato-onion chutney on the side. Try this one-pot sambar rice recipe at home and share your experience with us in the comments section below.