Sambar Rice (One pot meal)

     Sambar rice as a one pot meal makes a wholesome lunch. I had mistaken sambar rice with multitude of vegetables for bisibele bath for a long time. Then when I realized that they were different, I frantically started to search for the original bisibele bath recipe, which I tried and tasted recently. The practice of making Sambar rice as one pot meal, started owing to the necessity of using up the many jumbo bags of frozen vegetables bought by my husband during his bachelorhood, for easy and faster cooking. I avoid using frozen vegetables except for the rarely available ones here, like the drumstick, gooseberries, black olives, green peas and corn kernels.

Prep Time: 15 mins || Cook Time: 25 mins(for dal & rice)+ 25 mins || Serves: 6 || Category: One pot meal / Lunch

Ingredients:
1. Carrot - 1
2. Beans - 5 or 6
3. Cucumber - 1/2
4. Raw Banana - 1/2
5. Capsicum - 1/2
6. Potato - 1 small
7. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
8. Tamarind extract - 200 ml (1cup)
9. Oil - 2 tbsp
10. Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
11. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
12. Hing - 2 tsp
13. Onion - 1 (small)
14. Tomato - 1 (small)
15. Sambar powder - 2 tbsp (I used Bisibele bath paste - 1 tbsp)
16. Peas - 2 tbsp (used frozen pre-steamed)
17. Corn kernels - 2 tsbp (used frozen pre-steamed)
18. Toor dal - 150 gms (cooked)
19. Coriander leaves - as required
20. Salt - as required
21. Rice - 3 cups (cooked)

Method:
1. Wash and chop all the vegetables into bite sized pieces. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and water to them and pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles with sufficient water.

 2. Add the tamarind extract to the cooked vegetables and allow it to boil.

 3. Meanwhile, in a pan heat oil and temper with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing and saute chopped onion and tomato, till the onion starts becoming translucent and the tomato starts to become mushy. At that stage, add sambar powder/paste and saute for 2 mins.

 4. Add the sauted onion tomato to the cooked vegetables. Wash the green peas and corn kernels and drain the water.

 5. Add the green peas and corn kernels to the vegetables and allow it to blend with the vegetables.

 6. Mash the cooked toor dal and add it to the sambar. Stir well and let the dal cook for about 3-5 mins. Add required amount of salt and top with coriander leaves. Switch off the flame.

 7. Add the cooked rice to the sambar and mix well mashing the grains and blending them with vegetables. Adjust salt.

Suggestions:

• Any combination of vegetables can be used, based on the availability.
• I used bisibele bath paste instead of sambar powder, for a change.
• Onion and tomato can be either skipped or added directly to the cooked vegetables along with tamarind extract and boiled, instead of separately sauteing in a pan.
• If desired, red/green chilly / chilly powder can be added for hotness.

Serve hot with cucumber/onion raita or papad/fryums.