Sambar Rice
Veg · Rice dishes, Curries & Gravies
Rice dishesCurries & GraviesKuzhambu, Sambar & RasamDalOne-pot meals
You’ll need: Pressure Cooker
Good for: Lunchbox, Rainy Day
Cook along
10 steps, each one filmed
A short video for every step, so your hands never have to leave the pan.
Sambar rice from Tamil Nadu: pressure-cooked rice and dal in a tamarind sambar with drumstick. Medium-spicy, serves 4, 30 minutes plus soaking, with video.
Ingredients
18 itemsCarrot, Diced2
Water7 cup
Brinjal, Diced3
Garlic6 to 8 cloves
Ghee2 tbsp
Turmeric Powder¼ tsp
Salt1 tsp
Sunflower Oil2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds1 tsp
Curry leaves1 sprigs
Dry Red Chilli4
Small Onion (Shallots)20
Drumstick, Batons2
Coriander Leaves2 tbsp
Tamarind2 tbsp
Raw Rice1.25 cup
Toor Dal¾ cup
Sambar Powder1.5 tbsp
Contains: milk, wheat.
Nutrition
One serving, and the whole batch of 4. Worked out from the ingredients, so treat it as a close guide.
| Nutrient | Per serving | All 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 618kcal | 2472kcal |
| Protein | 17g | 68g |
| Carbohydrate | 101g | 402g |
| Fat | 18g | 72g |
| Fibre | 14g | 56g |
| Sugar | 11g | 42g |
Cookd masalas for raw rice
Method
- 1
Soak tamarind in hot water and keep it aside.
Tamarind
- 2
Wash and soak the rice and dal for 30 minutes. In a pressure cooker, add the soaked rice and dal. Add water and salt, mix it and let it cook for 4 whistles. Turn off the flame and let the steam reduce gradually.
WaterTurmeric PowderSaltRaw RiceToor Dal
- 3
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard, garlic, dry red chillies and curry leaves and let it crackle.
GarlicSunflower OilMustard SeedsCurry leavesDry Red Chilli
- 4
Add the shallots and saute till they turn translucent
Small Onion (Shallots)
- 5
Add the carrot, drumstick and saute for 2 minutes
CarrotDrumstick
- 6
Add sambar powder and mix it well for 2 minutes
Sambar Powder
- 7
Add water and mix it till the masala dissolves in the water. Add the brinjal and mix it well
WaterBrinjal
- 8
Add the tamarind water and mix. Keep it aside.
- 9
Add the vegetable mixture to the cooked rice and dal, mix it till all the ingredients combine evenly.
- 10
Add ghee, mix it well. Serve it hot along with pickle and chips/vadams/appalam.
GheeCoriander Leaves
Before you start
- How long does Sambar Rice take?
- 30 minutes from start to finish. That is 10 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking.
- How many people does Sambar Rice serve?
- 4. The ingredient quantities on this page rescale if you are cooking for a different number.
- Is Sambar Rice vegetarian?
- Yes. No meat, no fish and no egg.
- Is Sambar Rice spicy?
- It is medium: 2 on our scale of 3. Chilli scales gently when you change the servings, so doubling the recipe does not double the heat.
- What do I need to make Sambar Rice?
- 1.25 cup Raw Rice, 1.5 tbsp Sambar Powder, ¾ cup Toor Dal, 2 tbsp Tamarind, 2 Carrot, 3 Brinjal, and a few more listed on this page.
- Do I need a pressure cooker for Sambar Rice?
- Yes, this one is cooked under pressure.
- How many calories are in Sambar Rice?
- About 618 a serving. The full nutrition table is on this page, per serving and for the whole batch.
Tips from other cooks
6 notes- A
ArunMay 2023
Very simple and tasty recipe… must try . Salt is less make sure you add salt in the gravy part .
- S
Sushmitha NagarajanFebruary 2023
Good recipe Note: 2 Tsps of Salt to the vegetable mix while you leave it to boil. Much Much needed.
- K
Kavitha ReddyJuly 2025
Did I miss ‘cook/ boil vegetables’ or do they cook while sautéing? Mine didn’t cook while sautéing.
DikshithaMarch 2025
Yet another banger. Loved it ❤️
- J
JebittaMarch 2023
loved it. just like restaurant.
- C
A Cookd cookMarch 2023
😋
