Tomato Rice, often known as Thakkali Sadam, is a flavorful South Indian rice dish made with rice sautéed in a spiced tomato masala, tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves, herbs and fragrant spices. Tangy, mildly spicy and comforting, this one-pot meal is a well-liked alternative for lunchboxes and fast meals, finest loved with raita or papad.
Tomato Rice Recipe – A South Indian Basic
This straightforward, fast and scrumptious Tomato Rice recipe is a favourite staple dish from the Tamil Nadu state of South India.
Also referred to as Thakkali Sadam in Tamil language, this one pot marvel is tasty, wholesome and ideal to pack in a tiffin for lunch on the go.
Thakkali means tomato and sadam means rice in Tamil. It’s a barely spicy rice dish made with tomatoes, spices and rice. You’ll be able to simply regulate the warmth to your liking.
Serve it plain, or with crispy papad and any raita that you just like. It makes a splendidly filling and light-weight lunch.
I like to make a batch of this tomato rice usually and serve it for lunch. Additionally it is an excellent dish for packing in a tiffin. It requires just one pot, so there’s little or no clean-up.
My recipe is made in a stove-top strain cooker. Like most rice recipes, it can be made within the Prompt Pot or in a daily pan. Fast Prompt Pot and stove-top directions are shared within the recipe card beneath.
This recipe is impressed by the tomato rice we might eat on the cafe within the Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu.
Isha Yoga Centre, set on the foothills of the Velliangiri Mountains, has been an exquisite place to meditate. This tomato rice transports me again to these peaceable days, full of silence and tranquility.
It has taken me a number of makes an attempt to get this recipe proper, and I’m so excited to share the flavors of our wealthy time in Tamil Nadu.
The recipe has an ideal steadiness of flavors that complement the tanginess of the tomatoes superbly. You’ll love this tomato rice for its simplicity and general balanced style.
So as to add some pops of sweetness, embody frozen or contemporary inexperienced peas, carrots, or candy corn. These additionally make the dish extra healthful and flavorful.
Seeking to make Prompt Tomato Rice? Attempt my zesty Tomato Thokku (Tomato Pickle). Retailer it within the fridge. When the craving strikes, simply combine it with steamed rice. Tadaa! Your Prompt Tomato Rice is prepared.
Love Tomato Rice? You might also like these South Indian rice varieties:
Learn how to make Tomato Rice
Soak Rice
1. This recipe is easy and fast. First up, rinse your basmati (or different lengthy grain rice) underneath water till the water comes out clear. Now soak your rice in contemporary water for 20 to half-hour, then drain the rice and set it apart.
Tip: Don’t skip this step! Rinsing the rice removes floor starches that may trigger the rice to develop into gummy whereas cooking. Soaking offers the rice the chance to prepare dinner extra evenly and can make sure you don’t get any half cooked items.
When the rice grains are soaking, prep the remaining elements. Finely chop onions, tomatoes, inexperienced chillies and coriander leaves. Make a paste of ginger and garlic is a mortar-pestle. Put aside the spices and curry leaves.
Sauté Aromatics and Tomatoes
2. Subsequent up, pull out your trusty 3 litre stovetop strain cooker and warmth oil over a low flame till barely shimmering. You would use any impartial tasting oil or Ghee. I’ve used sunflower oil.
Tip: Utilizing an Prompt Pot? Set it to the sauté perform for the subsequent a number of steps.
Add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds to the heated oil and permit them to prepare dinner till crackling. Subsequent, add 4 to five fenugreek seeds (methi) and fry for about a few seconds ensuring you don’t burn them.
3. Subsequent, add ⅓ cup chopped onions, ½ inch cinnamon stick, 2 inexperienced cardamom pods and a couple of to three complete cloves.
4. Stir and sauté till the onions are translucent.
5. Now add 1 ½ teaspoons ginger garlic paste, 6 to 7 curry leaves and 1 chopped inexperienced chili (½ teaspoon chopped chillies)
Tip: For a much less spiced style, add about 1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste and cut back the inexperienced chillies.
6. Stir, then proceed to sauté till the aroma of uncooked ginger-garlic goes away, about some seconds.
7. Add ½ tablespoon of chopped mint leaves and ¼ cup chopped contemporary coriander leaves (often known as cilantro).
8. Stir and sauté for a minute.
9. Now add in 1 cup of finely chopped tomatoes. This required about 3 medium tomatoes for me.
10. Add the next record of floor spices:
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon pink chili powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder or crushed black pepper*
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
Tip: If you’re averse to spicy meals, you’ll be able to regulate the warmth stage by utilizing solely ¼ teaspoon every of chilli powder and black pepper. You would additionally add ½ teaspoon of Sambar Masala for a extra sturdy style and taste.
11. Stir nicely to coat the tomatoes within the spices and sauté.
12. Cook dinner till the tomatoes develop into delicate and pulpy, and the oil begins to launch from the perimeters. Stir usually.
13. Add the soaked rice and stir to mix.
Make Tomato Rice
14. Sauté the rice for a minute to permit it to soak in a number of the toasted spice flavors.
15. Subsequent up, add 1¾ cup water. Add 2 cups water for extra softer rice. For separate grains, add 1½ cup water.
16. Season with salt to style, then put the lid on.
Tip: If utilizing the Prompt Pot, put the lid on and swap the perform to strain prepare dinner on excessive for five to six minutes, then permit a pure launch after 10 minutes.
17. Let the strain drop naturally within the cooker. Then solely take away the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.
18. Serve Tomato Rice in a bowl with crunchy papads (often known as papadums or appalams), plain curd or flavored raita like – Onion Raita, Cucumber Raita or Boondi Raita. Garnish with some contemporary coriander leaves for a little bit of brightness. Get pleasure from!
Variations
- Sort of Rice: You should use any number of rice – common quick grain, lengthy grain, parboiled (transformed rice), and even brown rice. However make sure you add water as wanted and enhance or lower the prepare dinner time accordingly. For the perfect taste, I choose utilizing aromatic rice like basmati or seeraga samba.
- Utilizing Parboiled Rice: When you’re utilizing parboiled rice, soak it for no less than 1 hour earlier than cooking. Additionally, enhance the water barely and prepare dinner for a bit longer to make sure the grains are delicate and fluffy.
- Utilizing Cooked Rice: Tomato rice can be made with leftover cooked rice. Merely put together the tomato masala as talked about within the recipe, and blend the cooked rice into it. Gently toss till the masala coats the rice evenly. This model additionally works nice for lunchboxes.
- Add Veggies: To make the dish extra healthful, you’ll be able to add greens like inexperienced peas, carrots, candy corn, broccoli, cauliflower and even capsicum.
- Tomatoes: When you don’t have contemporary tomatoes, use about 1 cup crushed or chopped canned tomatoes as an alternative.
Skilled Suggestions
- Rinsing Rice: Make certain to rinse the rice nicely. Doing so, the floor starches might be faraway from the rice and your rice received’t flip gummy whereas being cooked. Additionally, soak nicely for even cooking of rice grains.
- Amount of water: For the basmati rice I used, I added about 1¾ cups water. This amount will alter relying on the standard of rice you utilize. To make delicate rice, you’ll be able to add 2 cups water. For separate grains, you’ll be able to add 1½ cups water.
- Tangy & Spicy Steadiness: Modify the variety of inexperienced chilies and pink chilli powder to fit your spice desire. For a extra tangy taste, you’ll be able to add a little bit of tamarind extract or a squeeze of lemon juice on the finish.
- Consistency Verify: If utilizing a strain cooker, keep away from overcooking the rice. The grains ought to stay separate and fluffy, not mushy.
- Make it within the Prompt Pot: You’ll be able to simply adapt this recipe to the Prompt Pot. Use the sauté perform for the steps of sautéing spices, onion and tomatoes to start with. Then, when you add rice and water, cowl with the lid and set to the strain prepare dinner on excessive for six to eight minutes perform. Then, permit a pure launch after 10 minutes.
- Make it in a pan: Start by including 2 cups water for cooking the rice in a pan. Cowl and simmer. Verify midway. If the rice appears to be like dry, then add about ¼ cup water.
- Scaling: It’s potential to make this dish for bigger servings. Nevertheless, a rise in portions of elements proportionally may not work this recipe.
FAQs
I don’t have cinnamon, ginger and cloves readily available. What can I substitute?
No downside! Merely substitute about ¼ teaspoon of Garam Masala as an alternative.
What measurement measuring cup ought to I exploit?
Each 240 ml and 250 ml measuring cups work nicely for this recipe. 1 cup of raw rice ought to yield 3 ½ – 4 cups cooked rice.
Can I enhance the dimensions of this recipe to feed 20 folks?
Whereas you can also make this recipe for a bigger group, rising the elements proportionally doesn’t work. We use the tactic of andaaz (approximation) by eyeballing the elements. I’m sorry I can’t aid you approximate!
Can I make this with out a strain cooker?
Sure, you can also make this in a standard saucepan as nicely. Begin out with 2 cups of water to prepare dinner the rice, then cowl with a lid and simmer. Verify when the rice is about midway finished, and if it appears to be like dry, add as much as one other ¼ cup of water.
Preparation
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Rinse basmati rice or any common rice for a few instances in water.
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Then soak the rice in water for 20 to half-hour. Later drain the rice and maintain apart.
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Chop the tomatoes, onions and inexperienced chillies finely. Peel and crush the ginger-garlic in a mortar pestle. Additionally, chop the mint and coriander leaves
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Maintain apart all of the spices required for the rice.
Sautéing onions, tomatoes, spices
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In a 3 litre stovetop strain cooker, warmth the oil. Maintain the warmth to a low and add mustard seeds and crackle them.
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Subsequent add fenugreek seeds and simply flippantly fry for a few seconds with out burning them.
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Subsequent add finely chopped onions and cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves.
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Stir and sauté till the onions flip translucent and soften.
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Add the ginger-garlic paste, chopped inexperienced chilies and curry leaves.
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Stir and sauté for some seconds till the uncooked aroma of ginger-garlic dissipates.
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Subsequent add chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves.
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Stir and saute for a minute.
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Maintain warmth to a low or swap off the warmth. Add the finely chopped tomatoes and turmeric powder, pink chilli powder, black pepper powder or crushed black pepper, coriander powder and cumin powder. Add this level, you possibly can additionally add ½ teaspoon of Sambar Masala if you happen to like.
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Combine very nicely and sauté the tomatoes till they soften and develop into pulpy with oil releasing from the perimeters.
Cooking tomato rice
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Add the soaked rice. Gently combine the rice with the tomato combination very nicely. Sauté for a minute.
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Add 1.75 cups water. For a extra softer consistency within the rice, it’s also possible to add 2 cups water.
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Season with salt as per style.
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Cowl and strain prepare dinner tomato rice for two whistles on medium warmth or about 10 to 11 minutes. To get a softer rice, it’s also possible to strain prepare dinner for 3 whistles.
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When the strain settles down by itself. Then take away the lid and gently fluff the tomato rice.
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Serve tomato rice with appalams or chips or with a facet of your most popular raita or plain curd (yogurt).
- Lowering spiciness: To cut back the warmth and pungency, use much less quantities of ginger-garlic paste, black pepper powder and pink chili powder. So you’ll be able to add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste, ¼ teaspoon pink chilli powder and ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder.
- Amount of water: I’ve added 1¾ cup water as this quantity was excellent for the basmati rice that I had used. The quantity of water that you have to add may even rely on the standard of rice. For a softer rice you’ll be able to add 2 cups and for separate grains, add 1½ cup water.
- Scaling: Whereas you can also make this recipe for a bigger group, rising the elements proportionally could not work for this recipe.
- Cooking in a pan: Begin out with 2 cups of water to prepare dinner the rice, then cowl with a lid and simmer. Verify when the rice is about midway finished, and if it appears to be like dry, add as much as one other ¼ cup of water.
- Cooking in an Prompt Pot: Start with setting the the sauté perform for the steps of sautéing spices, onion and tomatoes. After you add the rice and water, put the lid on and swap the perform to strain prepare dinner on excessive for six to eight minutes, then permit a pure launch after 10 minutes.
Ingredient Swaps
Cooked rice: You’ll be able to skip including uncooked rice. You probably have leftover rice or cooked rice, then combine it with the tomato masala and blend completely. You’ll be able to add about 3 ½ to 4 cups of cooked rice.
Canned tomatoes: You would simply add 1 cup of chopped or crushed canned tomatoes rather than contemporary tomatoes.
Energy: 121kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 2g | Fats: 10g | Saturated Fats: 1g | Sodium: 26mg | Potassium: 171mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 714IU | Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): 1mg | Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): 1mg | Vitamin B3 (Niacin): 23mg | Vitamin B6: 1mg | Vitamin C: 49mg | Vitamin E: 4mg | Vitamin Okay: 9µg | Calcium: 33mg | Vitamin B9 (Folate): 246µg | Iron: 1mg | Magnesium: 19mg | Phosphorus: 25mg | Zinc: 1mg
Tomato Rice recipe from the archives was first printed on June 2015.
