Sambar sadham is a healthy one pot meal prepared with red gram / toor dhal and lots of vegetable, cooked till they are mushy and just melt in your mouth. Sambar sadham is usually served with raita and pickle. But i love to eat it with appalam or vadagam.

Ingredients:

Serves 4 people

• 1 cup – Raw rice or boiled rice
• 1/2 cup – Red gram / toor dhal / thuvaram paruppu
• 1 cup – Mixed vegetables ( Carrot, potato, beans, green peas)
• 1 no – Onion (sliced lengthwise)
• 1 no – Tomato (chopped)
• 1 no – Tamarind (gooseberry)
• 1/4 tsp – Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp – Red chilli powder ( or add as needed)
• 1 tsp – Arachuvitta sambar powder
• 2 tbsp – Coriander leaves (for garnishing)
• 1 tbsp - Ghee
• Salt to taste

Seasonings:

• 1 tbsp – Oil
• 1/4 tsp – Mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp – Split black gram / ulunthu
• 1/4 tsp – Cumin seeds
• 1/8 tsp – Asafoetida
• 5 to 6 nos – Fresh curry leaves

Preparation method:

1. Wash and soak rice and red gram in a same bowl for upto 2 hrs. Soak tamarind in 1 cup of warm water and squeeze out the pulp.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker, season with items given for seasoning. Add onion and saute until slightly golden brown in color.
3. Add tomato and saute until mushy. Add all vegetables and saute for 2 mins.Then add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, arachuvitta sambar powder along with required salt and saute until raw smell goes.
4. Now add tamarind water (1 cup) and 2 1/2 to 3 cups of water, bring it to rolling boil. Add rice, red gram and check for salt. Close with lid and pressure cook for upto 2 or 3 whistles or until well cooked. Allow them to cool.
5. Open the pressure cooker, add chopped coriander leaves and ghee, mix well. Now sambar sadham is ready and serve hot with raita and pickle or with vadagam.

Notes:

• You have to soak rice and red gram for 2 hours because we want our rice and dhal to be cooked evenly.
• If you use raw rice then water ratio will be 1 cup of  rice : 2 cup of water. If you use boiled rice, the ratio will be 1 cup of rice : 2 1/2 cup of water.
• Adding ghee at the last stage gives nice aroma to the sambar sadham. Do not hesitate to add ghee.
• Arachuvitta sambar powder is completely optional. you can replace it with coriander powder also.