Sambar Rice

For a long time I have been searching for the best procedure to make Sambar Sadham or what I like to call as 'Bisi Bela Bath' (just because i think it sounds funny). But my different experiments from different recipes have always failed, as the rice would become lumpy and never be that smooth creamy consistency that I would love to have. I finally found the procedure that worked from Vazhayila.com, although in her blog Sarah calls her procedure as the not-so-authentic version, it tasted totally authentic and heavenly to me. The recipe for Sambar Rice is here: Bisi-Bele-Bath. I followed the rice: water ratio as given in the recipe, leaving rice for 3 - 4 whistles to cook. Similary, the ratio of dhal: water also worked as in the recipe and I left the dhal to cook longer for 6 whistles. Also, after adding all the vegetables, tamarind and cooked dhal and before pressure cooking the dhal for a second time, I made sure that there was seemingly more than enough water as that stage (the key is seemingly more than enough water). This ensured that after the rice was added and let to stand, the desired consistency of the sambar rice was not lost. And I being a stingy person when it comes to adding salt (God! everyone complains about that) also made sure that according to my taste buds there was more than enough salt as well, so that when the rice is added it all balances out well. And oh!... Don't forget to add the peanuts while tempering. I think it is a must and no one should make sambar rice without them ;)

Although the recipe calls this "Quick Dinner", it took about 2 hours for a novice like me, (let's hope that I gradually learn to become more efficient), but it was 2 hours that was totally well spent. I already made this for some guests and they loved it too. Thanks to Vazhayila.com!