One pot sambar sadham

Sambar sadham

One-Pot Sambar Sadham is a comforting South Indian specially Tamilnadu dish that combines rice, lentils, vegetables, and aromatic spices into a wholesome, flavorful meal—all in a single pot for ease and convenience. Traditionally, sambar and rice are cooked separately, but this version simplifies the process by cooking everything together, allowing the flavors to meld beautifully.

This dish has toor dal (pigeon pea lentils) and rice cooked with assorted vegetables like carrots, beans, potatoes , onions and tomatoes, infused with tamarind, sambar powder, and a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves, and dried red chilies. The result is a hearty, slightly tangy, and well-spiced dish with a creamy consistency, perfect for a quick and nutritious meal.

Best served with a dollop of ghee, papad, or a simple pickle, one-pot sambar sadham offers the rich taste of traditional sambar with the ease of minimal cleanup—making it an ideal choice for busy days!

Follow this method for a no mush Sambar Sadham .

Ingredients:

1 cup rice washed

1/2 cup toor dal washed

Soak both in hot water while you are prepping the veggies

1 big onion chopped to chunks ( not thin slices )

3 tomatoes, chopped into big pieces

Few beans, carrots, potatoes, all chopped into big pieces about a handful each .

1/2 handful of pumpkin chunks, both white and yellow pumpkins.

Make sure to add big chunks of veggies as we are cooking in pressure cooker, we do not want to see a mushy consistency.

Method

• Take a pressure cooker, add 4 tosp of oil, splutter 1 tsp mustard seeds, 2 red chilies, few curry leaves.

• Add the veggies, sautee lightly, add pinch of salt now to help soften onions.

• Add turmeric powder about 1/4 tsp, pinch of asafoetida powder.

• Add 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder .

• Add 3-4 heaped tosp of sambar powder, preferablyu use freshly roasted ground powder, recipe given below . Mix well. Add sufficient salt .

• Add 6 cups of water, allow the mixture of water and vegetables boil .

• Add the drained rice dal to the cooker, close the lid when you see a good boil.

• Reduce flame to medium, pressure cooker for only 2 whistles .

• Allow cooker to cool naturally .

• You will see the sambar Sadham cooked well without mashing the veggies.

• Add 1 tbsp or required Tamrind paste, allow the sambar Sadham to heat on for 4 minutes.

• Add chopped coriander leaves for garnishing.

• Add 2-3 tbsp ghee and mix well .

• Serve hot with your favorite accompaniments

Roast the following :

• With 1/2 tsp coconut oil or ghee, fry a small piece of solid asafoetida , keep aside in the same pan , roast the following till aromatic .

• 1.5 tbsp coriander seeds

• 5-6 red chillies of both medium and spicy varieties.

• 1 tsp udad dal

• 1 tsp chana dal

• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

• 20 pepper corns

• 1/4 tsp methi seeds

• some curry leaves .

• 1 tsp turmeric powder to be added just before removing from heat .

• switch off heat after adding turmeric powder in the roasted ingredients .

• some grated coconut can also be added to the roasted ingredients and fried for a minute or two . how ever i have skipped coconut .

• cool ingredients and powder to a fine texture in the mixie .

• Keep this aside .

• Use as required in the recipe, store the balance in an air tight container.

Sambar sadham