Arisi Parupu Satham (Rice with lentils)

This is another of my one-pot dishes which is quick, easy, delicious and comforting. The origin of this dish can be traced back to the regions surrounding Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. It reflects the attitude of people from that region – simple, no-nonsense, straight forward and down-to-earth.

I do this on lazy rainy days, when there are lots of better things do outside the kitchen without compromising the meal. Strangely my mother never made this at home and I learnt it from one of best friend and slightly adapted to suit my taste buds.

1. Rice – 3 cups
2. Lentils – 1 cup (after some trial and error, I found 3:1 ratio works well).
3. Mixed Vegetables – 1 cup ( frozen veggies are a quick way to add flavor to the rice)
4. Onion – 1 sliced
5. Tomato – 1 quartered
6. Garlic – 1 sliced
7. Sambhar powder – 1Tbsp (optional)
8. Curry leaves – a twig
9. Mustard seeds -1 tsp
10. Urad dal (split black lentils) – 1 tsp
11. Channa dal (split yellow lentils) – 1 tsp
12. Dried red Chillies – 3
13. Salt – as required
14. Oil – 2 Tbsp
15. turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Purists don’t add the vegetables and Sambhar powder for this rice. But I find this as an easy way of getting some veggies into the kids system. Wash and rinse the rice and lentils. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and add the mustard seeds and after they pop add the urad dal and channa dal. The channa dal gives a nice bite to the rice. When they start browning add the curry leaves and the red chillies. When the red chillies start turning colour, add the onions and tomatoes and garlic. When the onions are soft add the vegetables and then the sambhar powder and salt. Mix in the rice and lentils and add 7 cups of water (6 for the rice and 1 for the lentil) and close the cooker with the lid and put the weight on. I generally cook for 2 whistles, this may vary depending on your cooker size and make. The end texture is a bit mushy (texture similar to bisibele bath or risotto). But S doesn’t like the mushy texture and so I reduce the water level by one cup and the rice will come out with their grains separate (like briyani). With some chips and yogurt at the side to give contrasting textures the rice is a bliss on those rainy evenings.