Tomato Rice / Thakkali Sadam Recipe

Thakkali Sadam or the tomato rice is a lip-smacking rice variety from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This South Indian rice is tangy and spicy in taste and can be made either by one-pot method from scratch or by simply tempering the pre-cooked rice in a spicy onion-tomato base. Here i am showing the one-pot method of making Thakkali Sadam using Basmati rice , red ripe tomatoes and spices. This flavorful tomato-bath can be served with plain curd, any raita, papadam and pickle of your choice at lunch or dinner. The recipe is simple, vegan, kid-friendly and vegetarian and does not require any fancy ingredients. Makes an ideal lunch-box option as well .

I have very fond memories of my college days associated with this dish. I tasted Tomato rice for the first time some 20 years back in my hostel mess during my post-graduation days. The cook of our mess was a South Indian bhaiyya and i really enjoyed all the dishes he cooked and served to us. In fact, since then tomato rice became one of my favourite rice dishes. Whenever i have some left-over rice or i am not in a mood to cook something elaborate, or when i am really tied up for time, i make tomato bath. If you also have a batch of ripe red tomatoes lying in your fridge and want to make something tangy and delicious apart from the tomato soup, do give this Thakkali Sadam recipe a try.

                     

What goes into my one-pot version of Thakkali Sadam? The ingredients:

• Rice: This South Indian tomato rice typically uses short-grain rice. I have used my regular Basmati rice though. You can use any variety of rice. Even brown rice can be used. Just increase the cook-time, if using brown rice. The key to making non-sticky rice while cooking in a  pressure cooker is to rinse the rice a couple of times and soak it for few minutes prior to cooking it to get rid of the extra starch from the rice. 
• Tomatoes: Use red ripe tomatoes for best results. Some people prefer adding tomato puree, but i personally like the flavor and the bite the tomato chunks add to the rice. I however chop the tomatoes very finely so that my little one cannot sort the tomato chunks out from the rice. I have used only 2 ripe tomatoes, taking into consideration the taste buds of my family. If you like tangy food 3 large tomatoes could be fair enough.
• Onions: We love lots of onions in our rice dishes. This Thakkali Sadam does not use any other vegetable apart from tomatoes and onions. So do not skip adding onions.
• Ginger- Garlic: Ginger-garlic paste adds lovely flavor and aroma to the rice.
• Spices: This South Indian tomato rice is slightly on the spicier side and this recipe uses both the whole spices and spice powders for that spicy kick. Whole spices like Bay leaves, Cumin seeds, Cloves, green Cardamom and Cinnamon make the dish aromatic and flavorful. I have used slit green chilies also apart from the spice powders, red chili powder, turmeric powder and the Cumin-coriander powder. You may adjust the heat level as per your taste and the spice tolerance.
• Herbs : Curry leaves and fresh coriander leaves add refreshing flavors to the rice.
• Oil : I have used my regular Sunflower oil.You may used any neutral cooking oil of your choice. 
• Salt to taste

Related Event : Variety Rice Special @FoodieMondayBlogHop

This Thakkali Sadam recipe is featured in our Facebook gourmet group, The Foodie Monday Blog Hop, where a bunch of passionate food bloggers share their culinary creations every Monday depending upon a pre-determined theme. For the 281st week on this group, Narmadha who blogs @ Namscorner was our hostess and she suggested that we share variety of rice dishes for the theme. The rice dishes could be from our home state or elsewhere but it should not be the usual Biryani or Pulao recipes. I chose to cook this flavorful Thakkali Sadam, the South Indian tomato rice for the theme. Meanwhile, do check out Narmadha's space for some traditional South Indian recipes and awesome bakes. I have bookmarked her Verkadalai Sadam (Peanut Rice) recipe to try out next.

 

Dietary Notes:

• Kid Friendly
• Vegan Recipe
• Vegetarian Rice Dish
• South Indian Tomato Rice

Serving Suggestions:

• Thakkali Sadam can be served on its own or with plain yogurt in lunch boxes.
• Pair the tomato rice with some raita, fryum (papadam) and pickle of your choice for a soulful meal.
• We love it with Boondi raita.

Leftover Tomato Rice can be refrigerated in an air-tight container and used up to 1-2 days. I however prefer using it fresh.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients: Measurements used 1 cup = 240 ml

• 1 cup Basmati rice ( can use any variety of rice instead)
• 2 red ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 2-3 cloves
• 1 inch Cinnamon stick
• 2 pods of green cardamom
• 1 green chili, slit
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin - coriander powder
• Pinch of Asafoetida
• 2 tablespoon oil
• Small bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Rinse the rice couple of times in water to get rid of the starch. Soak the rice in enough drinking water for around 30 minutes if time permits. Next, slice the onion and finely chop the tomatoes and keep ready. Make a coarse paste of garlic and ginger. Heat a 3 liter pressure cooker and add oil to it. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. Once the seeds splutter, add asafoetida followed by the cumin seeds, bay leaf, clove, green cardamom, and curry leaves.

2. Next, add ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell goes. Now tip in the slit green chili and the sliced onions. Saute the onions on medium flame until translucent.

3. Now add the finely chopped tomatoes and stir fry the mixture until the tomatoes become mushy. Next, add the spice powders, red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin-coriander powder. Give a good mix and fry the spices on low flame for few seconds.

4. Add the soaked and drained rice. Give a good mix and add 2 1/2 cup water and salt to taste. Add finely chopped coriander leaves and put the lid on. Allow the rice to pressure cook for 2 whistles and then simmer for 5 minutes. Put off the flame. Open the lid of the cooker once all the pressure has been released. Fluff the rice using a fork and serve.

5. Serve the delicious Thakkali Sadam with curd or raita and some pickle of your choice and enjoy with your loved ones !

Recipe Notes:

• This South Indian tomato rice typically uses short-grain rice. I have used my regular Basmati rice though. You can use any variety of rice. Even brown rice can be used. Just increase the cook-time, if using brown rice. 
• The key to making non-sticky rice while cooking in a  pressure cooker is to rinse the rice a couple of times and soak it for few minutes prior to cooking it to get rid of the extra starch from the rice. 
• Use red ripe tomatoes for best results. Some people prefer adding tomato puree, but i personally like the flavor and the bite the tomato chunks add to the rice. I however chop the tomatoes very finely so that my little one cannot sort the tomato chunks out from the rice. I have used only 2 ripe tomatoes, taking into consideration the taste buds of my family. If you like tangy food 3 large tomatoes could be fair enough.
• This South Indian tomato rice is slightly on the spicier side and this recipe uses both the whole spices and spice powders for that spicy kick. I have used slit green chilies also apart from the spice powders. You may adjust the heat level as per your taste and the spice tolerance.
• Thakkali Sadam can be served on its own or with plain yogurt in lunch boxes.
• Pair the tomato rice with some raita, fryum (papadam) and pickle of your choice for a soulful meal.

Would love to hear from you !

I hope you would love trying out this healthy and delicious Tomato Rice (Thakkali Sadam) . If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with use in the form of likes and comments in the section below this post.

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See you soon with yet another healthy and delicious creation from my Kitchen. Until then Stay safe and eat right !

Happy Cooking !

Happy Eating !

Regards 

Poonam Bachhav 

For more South Indian Rice Recipes, do check out the following from this blog

• Puliyodharai / South Indian Tamarind Rice

• Thayir Sadam / Curd Rice

• Bisi Bele Bath

• Raw Mango Rice
  

• Gudanna / Jaggery Rice