Kadambam rice recipe for the Navratri season, you can prepare this as prasadam. Kadambam is a medley of flavors and textures prepared with rice, lentils, mixed vegetables and fresh ground spice mix. A no onion no garlic recipe, perfect for this festive season.
Kadambam can be enjoyed throughout the year, but mainly popular during Navratri.
Check out my kovil puliyodharai recipe and Mysore bonda recipe in this website, which can also be helpful.
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I wanted to try this dish last year itself, but did not. Actually the original recipe from where I referred has paruppu urundai in this kadambam rice. I was bit skeptical if I had to, but this time, made it omitting those and making with what I had. Do check her post for more ideas.
There are many versions of the recipe which also made me confused what to pick and try. But for Navarathri, I prefer this one. If you are making for home, you can try the Karnataka version which uses flexible vegetable choices and has onion, etc.
How this is different?
- Uses only country vegetables (Naatu kaigarigal) yet the one we cook during festivals. Like for example, cluster beans, yellow & white pumpkin, broad beans etc. Vegetables like drumstick, carrot, beans, brinjal are not used in this, but if you are making in regular days, no harm making with what you have in pantry.
- Pepper is added in spice mix, but very mild. Coconut is also added which I usually do not add in sambar masala.
- Channa is added protein apart from toor dal.
Kadambam Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed for the preparation. Below is a shot of spices used for the fresh powder used.
For full quantities and measurements, see recipe card below.
- Raw rice - Like sona masuri is used in this dish.
- Toor dal (Yellow pigeon pea) - Main ingredient along with rice, adds a creamy homogenous texture.
- Chana - Brown chickpeas adds good texture and adds nutritional value.
- Assorted Vegetables - For this particular version, yellow & white pumpkin, broad beans, cluster beans and plantain (raw banana)
- Tamarind - Used for tanginess, as there is nothing else.
- Sundakkai vathal - Dried indian turkey berries. This is totally new to me. I am not a big fan of this, yet added to try the original taste.
- Ghee - Adds good flavor.
- Sesame oil - Unique flavor to the dish.
For Fresh Spice Powder
- Chana dal (split bengal gram)
- Urad dal (split black gram)
- Dry red chilies
- Black pepper
- Coriander seeds
- Fenugreek seeds
- Coconut
See recipe card for quantities & measurements.
Stepwise images
This recipe needs some steps of preparations.
Cook the Rice and Dal
Wash and soak brown chana, the previous day night.
To begin with, cut vegetables into cubes / big pieces and keep immersed in water until use.
1. Then wash 1 cup rice, half a cup toor dal well and pressure cook rice + dal. I use my pressure cooker stack container and keep tamarind as well as soaked chana with salt in separate bowls.
2. Once done, keep aside.
Extract tamarind juice and make it 1 & ½ cups in total.
Prepare spice mix
1. Then heat 1-2 teaspoon of oil in a pan and roast sundakkai vathal in medium heat. Make sure to thoroughly roast inside too.
2. Keep aside and after that, add a teaspoon of oil and roast chilli, chana dal, urad dal, methi seeds, coriander seeds, pepper, red chillies and asafoetida.
3. Once turns pale golden, add grated coconut and roast until it turns golden.
4. Remove in a plate and cool down. Powder fairly fine not too coarse, not very fine, and keep aside.
Make kadambam
1. Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pot and temper with mustard, chilli and a sprig of curry leaves.
2. Add the vegetables, little salt (¼ tsp) and turmeric. Fry well for 2 minutes in medium heat.
3. After that, add 1 cup water and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables get cooked. Take care not to over cook.
4. Then add tamarind extract, more salt as needed, turmeric, roasted sundakkai vathal, cooked brown chana and bring to boil.
5. After that, add the spice mix gradually 1 tablespoon at a time as you mix.
6. Then, add cooked, mashed dal, rice and adjust water. I added 1 more cup of hot water. Check for salt and add more if needed.
7. Once it bubbles and gets a homogeneous consistency, switch off stove. It turns thicker as cools down, so switch off accordingly.
8. Finally, garnish with fresh torn curry leaves and sesame oil.
Enjoy hot with fried appalam or fryums best. Do try this kadambam recipe for this Navratri and don't forget to leave your feedback in comments or via social media.
Substitutions & Variations
- Vegan - Skip ghee and use coconut oil.
- Spicy - add chili according to your spice preference and the nature of chilli. But make sure to add enough, otherwise the taste will not be balanced.
- In fact, according to the original kadambam recipe I referred, it has some paruppu urundais too in this.
Storage
It can keep good for a couple of days in fridge, but do not let it be in countertop for long time before you store.
To reheat, add a pinch of salt and little water to loosen up and heat.
Actually, I had leftovers and the next day it was more flavorful, haha.
Top tip
- Avoid overcooking the vegetables as it adds texture beautifully.
- To cook rice in pressure cooker wash it thrice and drain water. Depending on variety, you can use from 2 & ½ cup of water to 3 cups for 1 cup rice. Same 1 : 3 water ratio for dal. Give 4 whistles in medium flame. You can use traditional pressure cooker or Instant pot.
- For cooking chana along rice and dal, add required salt and little water.
- An excellent trick is to keep the tamarind inside the pressure cooker! This method not only simplifies the process but also ensures effortless extraction of all the juice, eliminating the need for extended boiling to remove any lingering raw smell of the tamarind. I follow this as long as I know after I started cooking and shared this right from my beginning of my blogging days.
My notes
I do not add coriander leaves to keep the flavor different from my regular sambar rice. But if you want you can garnish with it. Same applies for tomatoes, I avoid it, but if you want you can add 1 cubed, along vegetables.
FAQ
For temple style kadambam rice or dish as prasadam, it's advisable to stick to country vegetables (naatu kaaigarigal) such as pumpkin, broad bean, cluster bean, plantain.
However, if you are making on regular days just for eating, you can be lenient and use brinjal, drumstick, potato, beans, carrot and even onion.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Kadambam rice:
Check out my Navratri Recipes for 9 Days
Recipe card
Kadambam recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Rice raw rice, I used sona masuri
- ½ cup Toor dal
- 1 tablespoon Tamarind Indian tamarind (not paste)
- ½ cup Broad beans chopped to big pieces
- ½ cup Yellow pumpkin cubed to large pieces
- ½ cup White pumpkin cubed to large pieces
- ½ cup Raw banana chopped to big pieces
- 1 tablespoon Sundakkai vathal Sun dried Turkey berry
- Salt
- 2 teaspoon Sesame oil For garnish
- 6 Curry leaves torn, for garnish
- 1 tablespoon Oil for roasting sundakkai
To roast & powder
- 2 teaspoon Oil
- 4 Red chilli Refer notes, increase if your chilli is mild spicy.
- 3 tablespoon Coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoon Chana dal
- 2 teaspoon Urad dal
- ½ tsp Black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida I used solid*
To temper
- 2 teaspoon Ghee
- ½ teaspoon Mustard
- 2 Red chilli
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
Instructions
- The before day, wash and soak brown chana. Cut vegetables into cubes / big pieces and keep immersed in water until use.
Cook rice and dal
- Firstly wash rice, dal well and pressure cook it. I use my pressure cooker stack container and keep tamarind as well as soaked chana with salt in separate bowls.
- Once done, keep aside.
- Extract tamarind juice and make it 1 & ½ cups in total.
Prepare spice mix
- Then heat enough oil in a pan and roast sundakkai vathal in medium heat. Make sure to thoroughly roast inside too.
- Keep aside and after that, add a teaspoon of oil and roast chilli, chana dal, urad dal, methi seeds, coriander seeds, pepper and asafoetida.
- Once turns pale golden, add grated coconut and roast until it turns golden.
- Remove in a plate and cool down. Powder fairly fine not too coarse, not very fine, and keep aside.
Make kadambam
- Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pot and temper with mustard, chilli and curry leaves.
- Add the vegetables, little salt (¼ tsp) and turmeric. Saute well for 2 minutes in medium heat.
- After that, add 1 cup water and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables get cooked. Take care not to over cook.
- Then add tamarind extract, more salt as needed, turmeric, roasted sundakkai vathal, cooked chana and bring to boil.
- After that, add the spice mix gradually 1 tablespoon at a time as you mix.
- Then, add cooked, mashed dal, rice and adjust water. I added 1 more cup of hot water. Check for salt and add more if needed.
- Once it bubbles and gets a homogeneous consistency, switch off stove. It turns thicker as cools down, so switch off accordingly.
- Garnish with fresh torn curry leaves and sesame oil.
Saranya says
I tried this recipe today and it came out very well. Thank you
tamarind is 1 tbsp ?
Raks Anand says
Yes it is 1 tbsp. Thank you so much for asking, I realized it is missed in the ingredients list. Updated now:) Thanks for the feedback!