🍛 Sambar Sadham

South Indian One-Pot Lentil & Vegetable Rice

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️
Prep Time: 20 mins | Cook Time: 30 mins | Serves: 4
Calories (approx): 380 kcal

🍛 One Pot, Thousand Stories

🌿 Introduction

Sambar Sadham is comfort distilled into a single pot — rice, lentils, vegetables, and spice
coming together the way South Indian kitchens have always understood nourishment:
slow, balanced, and deeply satisfying.

“Some meals don’t ask to impress — they simply hold you”

Sambar Sadham

Photo by Stirred By Spice

📝 Ingredients

Main Base

  • Raw rice – 1 cup

  • Toor dal – ½ cup

  • Mixed vegetables (carrot, pumpkin, drumstick, beans) – 1½ cups, chopped

  • Tamarind pulp – 2 tbsp

  • Water – 4½ cups

  • Salt – to taste

For Sambar Masala

  • Sambar powder – 2½ tbsp

  • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Tempering

  • Ghee or sesame oil – 2 tbsp

  • Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

  • Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

  • Dry red chilies – 2

  • Curry leaves – 1 sprig

  • Asafoetida (hing) – ¼ tsp

🍽️ Instructions

  • Cook Rice & Dal – Wash rice and dal together. Pressure cook with water, turmeric, vegetables, and salt until soft and slightly mushy.

  • Build Sambar Base – Mash lightly. Add tamarind pulp and sambar powder. Simmer for 8–10 minutes until aromatic.

  • Temper & Finish – Heat ghee, crackle mustard and cumin, add chilies, curry leaves, and hing. Pour over sambar sadham and mix gently.

  • Rest Before Serving – Let sit for 5 minutes to absorb flavors.

🍷 Optional Serving Notes

Serve with papad, pickle, or curd

A drizzle of ghee just before serving elevates the dish

💬 Soulful Note

This is the food that appears when no one asks what’s for lunch — it simply arrives, warm and complete,

ladled generously and eaten without ceremony.

📚 Cook’s Wisdom / FAQs

📚Cook's Wisdom:

  • Too thick? Add hot water and loosen gently.

  • Temple-style flavor: Use sesame oil instead of ghee.

  • Meal prep friendly: Tastes even better the next day.

📊 Nutrition (Per Serving — Approx.)

  • Calories 380

  • Protein 12g

  • Carbs 58g

  • Fat 12g

  • Fiber 8g

🍃🌶🍃 The Bottom Line

Sambar Sadham is not rushed food. It’s a reminder that simplicity, when given time, becomes deeply nourishing.

🧡 Meet the Heart Behind the Spice

Maya Shetty – Stirred By Spice Author Photo

Hi, I’m Maya Shetty — cook, storyteller, and spice lover.

Through Stirred By Spice, I share recipes that warm both the kitchen and the heart — where simple ingredients and warm flavors turn everyday meals into moments of connection.

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