Kadamba sadham- truly delicious

I did not realize there were this many different cuisines in India- the RCI event amazes me, the regions the hosts come with! So when Priya announced Kongunadu as this month's theme I knew there was something to be learned there. Kongunadu comes from kongu meaning nectar (honey) and the region's history dates back to the 8th century AD. You can read all about it here, here or even Priya's blog.
After going through a minor episode of "dad is sick back home", I made this dish for dinner the night of Sarawati puja/Ayudha puja/ the ninth day of navratri and trust me even in simplicity this dish rose to the occasion (believe me this was the only thing I made- did not even make a payasam/sweet dish for the puja).  I must thank Ramki of One page cookbooks for this recipe.

Ingredients


1 cup rice
1 cup tuvar dal
1 cup coconut milk
Pulp extracted from lemon sized ball of tamarind
2 cups chopped vegetables, I used green tuvar (frozen, need not chop), cauliflower, potatoes, red peppers and beans
3-4 green chilli peppers (adjust this for heat) 
salt and pepper to taste
Oil
Mustard, hing, jeera/cumin seeds for tempering


Method


In a pressure cooker, heat oil and add the mustard, jeera and hing. 
Once the seeds splatter, add the chopped vegetables and saute them with some turmeric, salt and pepper for about 3-4 minutes.
Wash the rice and dal, add them to the pot.
Add 2 cups of water, tamarind pulp and the coconut milk (total liquid should be around 4 cups). 
Close the pressure cooker and cook for 3 whistles.
Serve warm with pickle and yogurt.

 Judgement

It was very flavorful and really delicious. In fact I liked it better than the regular kichdis. Try it, I am sure you will love it too!