If you like easy rice recipes, some of my favourite recommendations are – South Indian lemon rice, paneer and peas pulao, and this easy vegetable pulao made in a rice cooker too.
So I am starting a mini-series in here featuring rice cooker recipes. If you have a favourite, please leave a comment, I’d love to try it.
My rice cooker is a Zojirushi 5.5 cup induction cooker which I bought from Tokyo. Frustratingly, it was more expensive than Amazon and in-store in Singapore but I like to believe it’s worth it. It does cook rice perfectly each time and by perfectly, I mean it’s fluffy and soft and unlike any other rice I’ve cooked using any other method. Anyway, more on that in a review soon.
Sambar Rice (Sambar Sadam) in a Rice Cooker
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 cup of rice
3/4 cup of toor dal, soaked for 30 mins in warm water
1 carrot, sliced
10 green beans, sliced
12 shallots (or 1 large onion)
2 tbsp of sambar powder
2 tbsp of oil
1/2 tsp of cumin / jeera
1/4 tsp of mustard seeds
1/4 tsp of hing powder (asafoetida)
1 stalk of curry leaves
Salt to taste
1 lemon-sized ball of tamarind
1 + 2.5 cups of water
A small bunch of chopped coriander leaves, for garnishing
Instructions:
0. Soak the tamarind in the 1 cup water for 10 mins. Extract juice and discard pulp.
1. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and cumin. When the mustard seeds pop and the cumin seeds turn a golden brown, add the hing. Fry for 5 seconds.
2. Add the shallots immediately after and fry for 2 mins.
3. Add the vegetables .Stir to combine well and let it cook for 5 mins until they begin to soften.
4. Top up with the sambar powder and curry leaves.
5. Mix well and let it cook for another 5 mins, stirring once or twice in between. Turn off flame.
6. Wash and rinse the rice and add to the rice cooker bowl…
… followed by the soaked toor dal
… and the cooked vegetables, water, tamarind extract, and salt
7. Mix well and cook per your rice cooker instructions. Mine is an induction cooker so it takes longer to cook the rice than regular rice cookers.
Voila! Rice cooker sambar sadam is ready.
Garnish, mix, and serve hot with curd, chips, and pickle.
Notes:
– You can add vegetables of your choice or none, if that’s what you prefer. I like to make it a balanced one-pot meal so I add whatever vegetables I have in hand. The shallots or onions are a must-add though
– Soaking the toor dal helps make it mushier in the rice cooker. Mine doesn’t cook dals to a mush so I have to help it along. If you want super mushy sambar rice, add more water and soak the dal longer, or cook in pressure cooker before adding to the rice cooker. That would make the process much longer though, obviously
– You can do the initial sauteeing in the rice cooker bowl itself, once it’s heated up. I haven’t tried this since mine is an induction cooker and takes a while to heat up. Let me know if you try it this way in yours
– Adding salt to the uncooked rice and dal may make it tougher to cook to a mush. Try adding salt after the dish is done. I will try this next time and see if it makes a difference
Just tried this! Loved it and my parents finally think I can cook xD thanks to you.
Thanks for the recipe. I am in Auckland, New Zealand and do not have a pressure cooker but only a rice cooker. I made sambar rice as suggested and it turned out great. Thanks a lot.
Thanks a lot for the recipe. I made it the way you suggested and it worked very well.
Amazing blog. That too sambar sadam and Pongal in Rice cooker! I used to pressure cook everything. But now the whistle sound bothers my little one a lot. Invested in some brands of rice cooker. Nothing gives me a soft and fluffy rice. Need your help whether Zojirushi model goes well with Ponni rice….
Hello Nagalakshmi, Long time. Hope you are doing well. Guess what, my mom wanted to know how to make sambar sadam so I searched for it on the net and your site came up 2nd on the page. And the URL looked familiar and somehow inviting so I clicked on it instead of the others and then realized it was yours. I can't cook for nuts and I don't think I enjoy it much either but have to appreciate what you've done – your recipes are clear, crisp, have great pics and mostly sound easy! Just finished explaining it to my mom. Hopefully, it will turn out great. Now I know where I should be looking if I have to start cooking 🙂
Jogi! So good to hear from you 🙂
This dish make me to think to convert to a vegan, lovely dish. Also, I love your recipes & photos. Thanks Naga !
This is cooking in my rice cooker as I type! It's perfectly vegan, as well! So – bonus.
Smells divine.
Thanks.
You veggies look so happy and colorful! I do everythign with my rice cooker – just haven't baked a cake yet in that – but the manual that came with my rice cooker had many recipes for baking cakes too – should try that one day.
so nice, I used to do Bisibelabath in cooker..This is so inviting..
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Lovely one mine is not the induction cooker but I do have one. Rarely use it. Must try some recipes. Try making basundi in it its superb.
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Looks so tempting rice, i feel hungry. Nicely done…
Woah! Thanks for the idea!! Never really gave the rice cooker much thought before this! This seems so delicious! I am definitely trying this one!
Previously i used to make sambar sadam (bisibelabath) in rice cooker only. But i pressure cook the dal . Very nicely captured nags. Hot sambar sadam is tempting me
I make rice, quinoa in it every day. I do not add the ingredients directly into the rice cooker pan though. I cook like we do with a pressure cooker. Add some water and then cook the rice in a bowl. It cooks perfectly. Saves you time from cleaning the rice that would otherwise be stuck to the base of the rice cooker. I make all rice varieties in the same way. They come out perfect.
Wow nice recipe. I use rice cooker to prepare pulav to pongal. Best part is i don't have to check if its going to burn and i can switch it one and do my chores . No waste of time ,on top of it it helps me add less oil.
for pongal or kichidi use jasmine rice. They become very mushy and cooks well.
Ahh… a great recipe in time when I am looking for ideas for quick and easy lunches.. And by the way there is nothing to regret about Zojirushi. I hear it is the best.
Nice. love this version..
Tempting one dear..
Wow ! Love Sambar Rice anytime with Pappad & Raitha….
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My comment 🙁 is missing. Okie, again. This is a nice idea because a lot of people dont use a rice cooker for anything else. I have made the obvious pulao, biriyani. Kootus with chayote, carrots etc( anything with moongdhall cooks beautifully). Pongals ( all types), Upmas, Carrot Halwa cooks well too. Oh, you must try parupu arisi sapadu in the rice cooker.
You can also do the sauteeting in the rice cooker. It works well, most times. I always assumed adding uncooked dhall, tamarind and salt will result in uncooked/undercooked dhall. So, I do the salt bit in the end when I make sambar rice this way.
Looking forward to more!
I tried to do the sauteeing in the rice cooker pan itself but since mine is an induction cooker, it takes a while to heat up. I should add that in the notes though 🙂
Also, will update the addition of salt. That didn't occur to me!
I love Sambhar sadam but never bothered to make it at home.Love this recipe using Rice cooker and also love the fact that you've made the recipe simple by using sambhar powder.Got-to-try.
I make the usual pulao,biryani and cook mushy rice for curd rice using the rice cooker.I've also heard rice cooker gajar ka halwa is kick ass minus the stirring trouble.So there.