Sambar rice or Sambar Sadam, however you know it as, is something akin to comfort food in many South Indian homes. This easy one-pot meal is not only filling but also hearty and delicious. Try this vegan and gluten-free South Indian classic for lunch on one of these cold days.

While this classic Tamil dish is made with white rice in many house, I will be sharing a recipe using brown rice in this post. This is an excellent way to get yourself accustomed to the taste of brown rice. And kids love this too! So, win-win, right?

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Sambar Sadam- Ingredients
Variations
Serving Suggestions
Method
More South Indian One Pot Meals
Recipe Card
Sambar rice

Sambar Sadam- Ingredients

Lentils– This recipe uses split pigeon pea lentils. These are called Toor Dal commonly. You can find them in most Indian grocery stores.
Brown rice– I have used brown Sona Masoori rice here but brown Basmati or other medium grained rice work well too. Timings remain the same as this dish is runny and gooey in texture.
Sambar powder– You can use store-bought sambar powder in this recipe. Or you can check out my homemade Sambar powder recipe too.
Veggies– I have used a combination of eggplants and shallots for this recipe. You can also use carrots, bottle gourd, zucchini, beans, pumpkin or a combination of veggies. The shallots can be replaced with regular onions. Use 1/2 cup finely chopped regular onions in place of the shallots.
Tamarind paste-Again, store-bought tamarind paste to my rescue.
Sesame oil– Most people make this dish with ghee. But, I love this with sesame oil. The flavor is so good! And it remains vegan that way.
Jaggery– To round out the flavors in this one-pot dish, we use a teeny bit of jaggery. While it is optional, I highly recommend it. If you do not have jaggery, you can use coconut sugar or palm sugar. Please do not use white sugar.
Peanuts– Adding peanuts to Sambar Sadham and Bisi Bele Bath is a tradition in our home. I picked this habit from my granny. Feel free to give this a miss if you are allergic to nuts or don’t like them.

Variations

Make this with regular white Sona Masoori instead of brown. Timings remain the same.
Use just shallots. We love this version and I absolutely recommend that you try it.
Add cashews instead of peanuts. Does this even need an explanation?
Try making this recipe with Moong dal or Masoor Dal instead of Toor Dal. All these taste just as delicious.

Serving Suggestions

If someone were to ask me to pick the best accompaniment for this easy-peasy Sambar Sadam, I will nominate potato fry in the blink of an eye. And here are some more serving suggestions.

Method

Let us now see how to make this step by step.

Instant Pot Sambar Sadam

Soaking the rice and lentils

Place the brown rice and Dal in a colander. Wash them well. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add 2 cups warm water and let it soak for 20 minutes. While this is soaking, prep the veggies and assemble the remaining ingredients.

Cooking time and mode

Once the rice and lentils have soaked, insert the inner pot into the Instant Pot. Plug in the Instant Pot and choose SAUTE MODE on NORMAL for 10 MINUTES. Wait for the display to read HOT.

Now, add the sesame oil. Wait for 1 minute. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and allow them to pop. Now, add the fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds along with the shallots and eggplants.

Mix well and allow the shallots to turn pink. When the shallots are pink, add the sambar powder, ground coriander and turmeric powder along with the tamarind paste and salt. Stir well to combine.

Adding rice, lentils and water

Drain the soaking rice and lentils. Add them to the Instant pot and mix well. Now, add 3.5 cups water and jaggery and stir well to combine. Press CANCEL.

Ensure that the sealing ring has been fitted properly into the Instant Pot lid. Close the Instant Pot and turn the VALVE to SEALING. Now, press PRESSURE COOK MODE- HIGH PRESSURE and set the timer to 15 MINUTES.

Allow the cooking cycle to complete fully. Once it is complete, wait for natural pressure release. It takes roughly 22 minutes for the pressure to release fully. When the pressure drops, open and mix well. If you find that the rice is too thick, add 1 cup hot boiling water to it to adjust consistency.

Tempering

Heat a small pan with 1 tbsp sesame oil. Add raw peanuts and mix well. Wait for the peanuts to crisp up. Do this on low heat to avoid burning. Now, add curry leaves and immediately add this to the cooked sambar Sadham. Stir to combine.

Serve hot with baby potato fry and some raita.

Pressure cooker Sambar Sadham

You can easily make this recipe in a regular stove-top pressure cooker too. Heat a large and deep pressure cooker. Add sesame oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. Allow them to pop and add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds followed by shallots and eggplants.

Fry the shallots and eggplants till the shallots become pink. Now, add 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1.5 tsp sambar powder, 3/4 tsp each red chili powder and ground coriander.

Tip in the salt and tamarind paste. Mix well. Drain the soaked rice and Dal. Add this to the cooker along with 3.5 cups water and jaggery. Stir to combine. Close and pressure cook on medium flame for 4 whistles. Wait for the pressure to release naturally.

When done, open the lid and mix gently. Heat a small pan with sesame oil. Add the raw peanuts and fry till they crisp up. Now, tip in the curry leaves and immediately transfer the tempering to the cooked rice.

Mix well and serve hot.

More South Indian One Pot Meals

If you are an one-pot meal loyalist, check out our Instant Pot Rasam rice, Instant Pot Bisi Bele Bath, Vegetable Pulao and Millet Pongal recipes too.

Recipe Card

Instant pot sambar rice served in a black bowl topped with roasted peanuts. The bowl is placed over a tye-dye patterned napkin. A spoon is also by the side of the bowl.

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5 from 1 vote

Sambar rice

South Indian style Sambar Sadam or Sambar rice is a medley of rice, lentils and veggies. This recipe is a tad healthier since it is made with brown rice. Vegan. GF.

Course: Main Course, Mains

Cuisine: Indian- South, South Indian

Servings: persons

Calories: 298kcal

Equipment

Instant Pot 6 qt

Ingredients

To soak

3/4 cup brown rice
1/2 cup toor dal Split pigeon pea lentils
2 cups warm water

For the Sambar rice

1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
12 shallots peeled
5 medium sized purple eggplants quartered
1.5 tsp Sambar powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika (Red chili powder)
3/4 tsp ground turmeric (Turmeric powder)
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1.5 tsp Kosher salt or to taste
1.5 tsp Jaggery powder
3.5 cups water

Tempering

1 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp raw peanuts
12 curry leaves