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    Home » Recipes » Vegetarian

    Published: Jun 26, 2016 · Modified: Oct 12, 2023 by Usha Rao

    Black Gram Rice ~ Urad Dal Rice ~ Ulundu Sadam

    Jump to Recipe

    Urad dal or black gram rice is a nutty, spicy and flavorful rice from Tamil cuisine. It is festive food, comfort food and also great for lunch boxes.

    Bowl of Ulundu Sadam.

    The last rice dish for this week is black gram rice from cookbook Dakshin. I never tasted this rice before and do not know how it is suppose to taste. I adjusted the spices to suit my palate and loved the flavor.

    Masala powder with urad dal gave the rice a nutty flavor and black peppercorns gave a unique taste. When eating this rice, it reminded me a lot of temple prasadams (offering to God) with rice.

    Bowl of Black Gram Dal Rice.

    As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I do not use hing in my everyday cooking and am not used to its flavor. I always prefer garlic. Though I used hing in this recipe, I used less than ½ the quantity the recipe called for.

    Bowl of Urad Dal Rice.

    The other change I made was using less black peppercorns. The recipe called for 1 ½ teaspoon peppercorns and I used half of it. I felt if one wants more fiery rice, can use up to 1 tsp. However, I prefer chilies or chili powder for heat and felt ¾ was just good enough for my taste.

    Bowl of black gram  rice.

    📖 Recipe

    Black Gram Dal Rice, Black Gram Rice, Urad Dal Rice, Ulundu Rice, Blogging Marathon, Fried Rice, Masala Rice, South Indian Food, South Indian Rice, Indian Food, Tamil Food, Tamil Cuisine, Minapappu Annam,

    Black Gram Rice ~ Urad Dal Rice

    A nutty, spicy, flavorful rice with black gram & peppercorn spice mix. It is a comfort food when served with raita.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Indian, South Indian, Tamil Cuiisne
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 1 person
    Calories: 1683kcal

    Ingredients

    Main Ingredients

    • 1 cup uncooked Basmati Rice regular rice can be used
    • ½ – ¾ teaspoon Salt
    • Masala Powder
    • 3 tablespoon Ghee or Butter I used 2 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil
    • 10-12 Whole Cashews broken
    • 2 small Green Chilies chopped

    Masala Powder (Spice Mix)

    • 1 ½ – 2 tablespoon Black Gram ~ Urad Dal washed
    • 1 ½ - 2 tablespoon Sesame Seeds
    • ¾ - 1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns
    • 1 ½ - 2 tablespoon Coconut Flakes or Dry Coconut

    Tempering

    • ½ – ¾ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
    • ¾ teaspoon Black Gram ~ Urad Dal washed
    • ¾ teaspoon Bengal Gram ~ Chana Dal washed
    • ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon Hing ~ Asafoetida can used to upto ½ teaspoon but used less than ¼ tsp. Check notes
    • 6-8 Curry Leaves
    • 1 Dry Red Chili

    Instructions

    Cooking Rice

    • Cook rice with 1 ¾ cups of water. I used a rice cooker and let the rice cool.

    Masala Powder

    • Heat a pan to dry roast the ingredients listed under masala powder.
    • First add Urad dal and roast for few seconds until it is slightly dry and not wet anymore.
    • To the same pan, add peppercorns and sesame seeds. Dry roast until almost light brown.
    • Then add coconut flakes and continue roasting until all the ingredients are well roasted.
    • Remove from fire and let cool.
    • Grind to fine powder and keep aside until ready to use.

    Putting it together - Urad Dal Rice

    • When rice is cool enough to handle, add masala powder, ½ – ¾ teaspoon salt and mix properly.
    • Heat butter and oil in a 9-10” nonstick pan.
    • When oil is hot, add cashews and fry until cashews are brown. Remove and keep aside.
    • In the same oil/butter add mustard seeds, urad dal, Chana dal, curry leaves, dry chili and hing(if using).
    • Once mustard seeds splutter, add green chilies and saute for a minute or two. If not using hing, add crushed garlic at this point.
    • Add rice and mix until tempering is blended. Fry for a minute or two until rice is hot and turn off the heat.
    • Garnish with cashews and serve with papdams. I ate it as is with some yogurt to the side.

    Notes

  • Measuring cup used is the one that comes with the rice cooker.
  • I used less than ¼ teaspoon hing and I would always prefer crushed garlic. If you are like me, use about 1-1 ½ teaspoon crushed garlic.
  • Nutrition

    Serving: 0g | Calories: 1683kcal | Carbohydrates: 209g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 79g | Saturated Fat: 42g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 115mg | Sodium: 1493mg | Potassium: 798mg | Fiber: 27g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 704IU | Vitamin C: 198mg | Calcium: 447mg | Iron: 13mg
    Tried this recipe?Share a photo! Mention @usha_myspicykitchen or tag #Usha_MySpicyKitchen!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 2 votes

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    1. Harini-Jaya R says

      August 24, 2016 at 1:01 pm

      Very flavorful and unique.

      Reply
    2. cookingwithsapana says

      July 27, 2016 at 4:48 am

      Urad dal rice looks flavorful and tasty.

      Reply
    3. Suja Ilangovan says

      July 23, 2016 at 4:09 pm

      Lovely Urad dal rice, Usha. Must have tasted awesome! My MIL used to make it, too 🙂

      Reply
    4. Srivalli says

      July 04, 2016 at 7:42 am

      Wow that's yet another lovely rice usha..love your composition!

      Reply
    5. Priya Suresh says

      June 30, 2016 at 5:13 pm

      Such a flavourful rice, prefect to pack in lunch box.

      Reply
    6. Mireille Roc (@ChefMireille) says

      June 30, 2016 at 3:16 pm

      5 stars
      what a great way to spice up and flavor up rice - a fabulous dish for sure

      Reply
    7. Pavani says

      June 29, 2016 at 3:15 pm

      I made this rice from Dakshin and loved it. It's a protein packed dish that is easy to make.

      Reply
    8. Sarita says

      June 27, 2016 at 10:19 pm

      Nice recipe .. Never tried urad dal rice..looks very flavorful.. Want to try this soon.

      Reply
    9. kalyani says

      June 27, 2016 at 3:07 am

      perfectly made Ulundogorai (we call this prasadam that 🙂 )

      Reply
    10. Smruti | Herbivore Cucina says

      June 26, 2016 at 2:41 pm

      This is a new recipe for me. Great way to make rice super flavorful!

      Reply

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    Hi, I am Usha! Welcome to my space. I am the content creator and photographer here. I love cooking and all the recipes on the site are tried and tested in my kitchen.

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