Kootanchoru rice

Mughalai's introduced us biryani, have you ever wondered, what would our ancestors made for one pot meal before biryani. my grand mom's never prepared biryani. but they prepare delicious kadamba sambhar sadam.  it is not at all our tradition to have biryani. slowly now biryani is ruling all over here in tamil nadu. now a days its very difficult to spot kootanchoru or sambhar sadam in hotel menu(all the bhavan's have. i agree. but others?)

 Kootanchoru or Kadamba sambhar sadam is cooking rice,dal, vegetables and greens together in one pot. what a healthy one pot meal that could be.  Have you ever cooked in your childhood with your friends? or have you had your dinner with your family down the moon on a full moon day?

During my childhood, we four friends bring small amount of rice, vegetables, dal from our home's and cook in a small stove made by us with just three stones and some sticks. cooking together and eating together was so much fun then.

Kootanchoru / Kadam Sambhar Sadam

serves : 2
cooking time:20 minutes
preparation time: 15 minutes
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Ingredients:

• Rice - 200gms
• Tuvar dal - 50 gms
• Carrot - 1
• Beans - 6
• Radish - 1
• Raw Banana - 1
• Brinjal - 2
• Arai keerai - 2 cup
• Murungai keerai - 1 cup
• Tamarind - a lemon sized
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Sambhar powder - 1/2 tsp
• Grated coconut - 2 tbsp

To grind:

• Coconut grated - 1/4 cup
• Cumin - 1/2 tsp
• Garlic - 2
• Shallots / Small onions - 6
• Dry Red chilli - 3
• Water - little to help grinding smoothly

For tempering:

• Sesame oil - 2 tbsp
• Mustard - 1/2 tsp
• Split urad dal - 1/2 tsp
• Thalippu vadagam - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Traditionally its all cooked together in a big pot. but now pressure cooker can be used to make the cooking express fast.


2. Wash and soak the rice and dal together for 30 minutes.


3. Chop the vegetables into small pieces. Boil the tamarind with 1/4 of water and wait till it cools and get the tamarind extract ready.


4. Clean and was the Greens and chop them.


5. In a wide bottomed pressure cooker, add rice, dal, vegetables, greens, tamarind extract, turmeric powder, sambhar powder, little salt and 5 cup's of water. pressure cook upto 5 whistles. let the steam escape and  place the pressure cooker again on medium flame.


6. Now add the grounded coconut mix to the pressure cooker and mix well. let the flame be low and cook for 5 minutes till the raw smell of the grounded mix goes off.  Add 2 tbsp grated coconut to rice and mix well.


7. Finally in a small tempering pan, add 2 tbsp oil, mustard, urad dal and let the mustrad splutter, switch off the flame and add the thalippu vadagam.


8. Now add the Tempering to the rice in pressure cooker and mix well. switch off the flame and serve hot.

Notes:

• Coconut add up the taste, so do not skip it.

• You can add drumstick, but when i added, it got mashed while pressure cooking. so if you want to add, add cooked drumstick in the later stage while adding grated coconut.

• While serving for kids, serve with a dollop of ghee.

• Use your choice of greens, from spinach, little methi leaves, mulai keerai, etc.

Kootanchoru / kadamba sambar sadam is ready, serve with appalam and some potato roast or vazhakkai(raw banana) roast.

Recipe for Vazhakkai roast:

Peel the skin and chop the raw banana(1) into small pieces. Add  2 tbsp oil in a heated pan. add mustrad, curry leaves, sambhar powder(1 tsp), dhaniya powder(1 tsp), salt to taste, asafoetida a pinch, all in the temepering stage and roast the powders. then add the chopped raw banana and mix well with the masala. let the flame be low, add another tbsp of oil, if it sticks to the pan. cook for 10 - 15 minutes in the closed pan.