After ages, I am posting an Instant Pot and South Indian recipe. I hope you all enjoyed my Instant Pot summer beverages :horchata and raspberry green tea. Now it’s time for cozy comfort rice dishes and soup, and I am starting with this simple keerai sadam or the keerai kootu sadam.
One-pot South Indian Instant Pot recipes
You all know my love for quick and easy one-pot recipes. I have shared quite a few one-pot pulao and biryani varieties. Equally, I have shared South Indian one-pot recipes like rasam sadam, kadamba sambar sadam, sambar sadam, kootanchoru, arisi paruppu sadam, ven pongal, etc. I am adding this keerai kootu sadam to that repertoire.
Keerai kootu sadam
In Tamil, keerai means leafy greens, kootu means the mixed veggie and lentils gravy with freshly ground coconut masala, and sadam means rice. You can enjoy kootu as a side dish for sambar rice, rasam rice, or as an accompaniment with plain steamed rice. But today, I have combined rice and kootu to make this simple kootu sadam. I started making this kootu sadam during our kitchen renovation. When I had a limited set of vessels, I was opting only for one-pot recipes. These are very handy when time is pressing, and it’s a perfect lunch box recipe as well.
Ingredients used
To Temper: We need the essential tempering ingredients like mustard seeds, urad dal, and chana dal. As always, I recommend coconut oil, but you can use the oil of your choice. As we add cumin seeds in the kootu masala, I skip during tempering. For the kootu masala: We need fresh or frozen coconut, cumin seeds, whole peppercorns, and dried red chili. I went with 1 tsp of whole peppercorns, so I reduced the measure of dried red chilies. Onion: It’s entirely optional. You can add both onion and garlic or skip both. I have tried with and without onions, and it has come out well. Greens: For this recipe, I used swiss chard. I have tried this recipe with spinach and both green and red amaranth. I am yet to try it with collard greens or kale. You can mix and match any of these greens with spinach too. Rice, lentils, and quinoa: We typically use moong dal for kootu, which I have also used in this recipe. Along with rice, I have included some quinoa, too, for that added protein. Along with the above ingredients, we need turmeric powder, salt and water. Please do check the FQA section below for ingredient variations. I have skipped asafoetida. As we add peppercorns, it is ok to skip asafoetida, but no harm in adding ⅛ tsp of asafoetida.
Frequently asked questions
Dietary specifications and serving suggestions
This keerai sadam is gluten-free, nut-free, and vegan by nature. You can serve this with raita, any dry curry, chips, or appalam/papad. If you are not particular about vegan, add a dollop of ghee before serving. You can replace ghee with coconut oil too. I would recommend relishing this rice hot. The rice thickens as it cools down. So if needed, add ½ cup of hot water and reheat before serving. Now, without further ado, let’s see how to make this keerai kootu sadam in Instant Pot.
Keerai sadam or keerai kootu sadam in Instant Pot with step-wise pictures
Set the Instant Pot in saute mode, and when it is hot, add the coconut oil. Then add the mustard seeds, urad dal, and chana dal, and let the mustard seeds splutter. Then add the chopped onion and turmeric powder and saute until the onions are soft.
Meanwhile, grind the coconut, dried red chili, cumin seeds, and peppercorns by adding ½ cup of water and set aside. (Missed taking that picture). When the onions are soft, add the chopped swiss chard and salt.
Let the Swiss chard wilt like below. It usually takes about two minutes. Turn off the Instant Pot.
Now add the rinsed and drained rice, quinoa, and moong dal.
Followed by ground coconut paste and water.
Mix well and press the cancel button, close the Instant Pot lid, and ensure the vent is in the sealing position. Press the “Rice” preset button and when the cooking is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally. Carefully open the lid after releasing the pressure and allow the rice mix to cool for 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can cook at high-pressure manual mode for 5 minutes and do a natural pressure release.
After 5 minutes, mix and mash the rice and serve it warm with raita or sides of your choice.
Recipe notes
Onions are optional. You can very well make this rice without onion. And along with onions, if you want to include garlic, you can add two cloves of garlic.Adjust the salt, whole peppercorn, and salt measure to taste. You can add up to 2 tsps of cumin seeds for this rice.I omitted asafoetida. You can add ⅛ tsp of asafoetida. The rice thickens as it cools down. So if needed, add ½ cup of hot water before serving.
Explore other greens recipes from my blog archives
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📖 Recipe
