Tomato rice or thakkali sadam is an easy way to re-use left over rice. It is a great tiffin recipe for kids for lunch box. You can make it easily for a picnic or brunch. This recipe is pretty common in all south Indian homes across Andhra Pradesh/Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Tangy and flavorful, it is a great way to make kids eat rice who do not like plain white rice. You can even have it during long journeys and overnight travel. It does not need any curry with it. Hence, saves cooking time.
These easy recipes are perfect during those mid week cooking when you have to rush. You can just serve it with some plain pot set yogurt if you are not vegan. You can never get bored of making this. I have been eating this since more than a decade and it still remains my favorite. Flavor the rice with nice tangy sour fresh tomatoes. Garnish them with cashews, peas or peanuts. Other one-pot meals from south India include Tamarind rice, Curd rice, mango rice & lemon rice. All these rice dishes can be made with leftover rice.
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Trivia: Did you know there is a Mexican rice recipe too?
There is also a similar version of this eaten in Mexico called the Mexican tomato rice. The only difference being addition of vegetable stock /chicken broth and chipotle paste. Quite a coincidence, I must say!
Ingredients
- olive oil / vegetable oil
- curry leaves
- mustard seeds
- rice
- tomato
- ginger -green chillies
- red chilli powder
- turmeric powder / curry powder
- peanuts/ cashews
- asafoetida (avoid if gluten-free)
refer to recipe card for details.
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How to make instant pot tomato rice?
Soak rice after washing it 2-3 times for 10-15 minutes.
- In an instant pot, heat some oil in sear/ sauté' mode and cook the peanuts. Keep it aside optionally.
- Add some mustard seeds, ginger, curry leaves and green chilies.
- Let the seeds splutter. Now add asafoetida.
- Add asafoetida followed by turmeric and red chilli powder. Now add the pureed tomatoes. Cook on a medium flame.
- Let it cook until rawness of tomatoes disappears.
- Add the uncooked rice, after removing the water.
- Add double the water.
- Close the instant pot lid and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, release excess steam after 5 minutes. Serve warm.
How to make tomato rice in a pan (with cooked rice)?
- Heat oil and temper mustard seeds ,ginger, green chilli and curry leaves. Add a pinch of asafoetida/heeng if not gluten-free.
- Add tomato puree to the tempering.
3. Add turmeric, red chilly powder and cook until raw smell of tomato disappears. Stir to ensure spices are mixed well.
4. Now, add rice to it and mix well. Serve hot.
5. Optionally you may add fried cashews, dried red chili, peanuts to increase the flavor. Serve hot with fried appalam/papad and yogurt (if not vegan).
Instant pot tomato rice| Tomato rice recipe
Equipment
- instant pot
- or saucepan / frying pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice uncooked; yields about 3 cups cooked rice
- 4-5 medium tomatoes pureed
- oil as needed for tempering
- 2 cups water for raw-rice method
For tempering
- ¼ cup peanuts raw
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 piece ginger
- Pinch asafoetida Heeng is optional if making gluten-free
- 1-2 green chilies chopped
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder or as per taste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- Sprig of curry leaves
- salt as per taste
Instructions
- Wash the rice 2-3 times, then soak it for 10-15 minutes.
To cook in an Instant Pot:
- In sauté mode, heat some oil and cook the peanuts.
- Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add ginger, curry leaves and green chillies.
- Add asafoetida and tomato puree.
- Add the spices and cook until the tomatoes lose their raw taste.
- Add the soaked and drained raw rice followed by 2 cups water.
- Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Wait 5 minutes after cooking, then release any remaining pressure.
- Serve hot with papad if vegan, or with yogurt raita.
For cooking in a pan (with raw rice)
- Heat oil and cook the tempering ingredients with the tomato puree and spices.
- Add 1 cup raw rice and 2 cups water.
- Cover and cook until the rice is done.
For cooking in a pan (with already cooked rice)
- Heat oil and cook the tempering ingredients with tomato puree and spices.
- Add the cooked rice, mix well and serve warm.
Substitution & Variations
You can make this recipe with soaked rice in different ways. Use double the water and make it in a similar fashion in an stovetop pressure cooker or as an easy one-pot rice recipes in a Dutch oven.If you do not have basmati rice you may use any long grain rice variety for this recipe.
You can use a market based tomato paste if you do not have fresh tomatoes to puree at home. However, market based tomato paste is more tangy so adjust a teaspoon salt while cooking rice accordingly.Spice level of the tomato masala can be altered to your taste. You can add fried dry red chilies to increase it or use only red paprika if you like it mild.
FAQ
Slimy texture, bad smell can show that rice is spoilt.
Always refrigerate after it cools.It is better to discard if left outside.
Conclusion: South Indian tomato rice is an easy and tangy recipe which can be made in a traditional pressure cooker method, in a deep saucepan or an instant pot. This quick recipe is perfect for lunch boxes.
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