Tomato Rice | Thakkali Sadam | How to make Tomato Rice | How to make Thakkali Sadam - by foodogger

Tomato Rice (Thakkali Sadam) 

This quick, delicious Tomato Rice recipe is a favorite dish from the Tamil Nadu state of South India. Also known as Thakkali Sadam, this one-pot wonder is tasty, healthy, and perfect to pack in tiffin for lunch on the go.

Ingredients:-

For soaking rice

• 1 heaped cup basmati rice or any regular rice
• water as required

More ingredients

• 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes (tightly packed) or 3 medium to large tomatoes or 200 grams
• ⅓ cup finely chopped onions or 1 medium-sized onion
• 1.5 teaspoons Ginger-Garlic Paste or 1 inch ginger + 5 to 6 small to medium garlic crushed in mortar-pestle
• ½ teaspoon chopped green chili or serrano pepper or 1 green chili
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• 4 to 5 fenugreek seeds (methi seeds) - optional
• ½ inch true cinnamon
• 2 green cardamoms
• 2 to 3 cloves
• 6 to 7 curry leaves (medium-sized)
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon red chili powder
• ½ teaspoon black pepper powder or crushed black pepper
• ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder (ground cumin)
• ½ tablespoon chopped mint leaves
• ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
• 1.5 to 1.75 cups water or add as required
• 2 tablespoons oil - any neutral oil
• salt as required

Instructions:-

Preparation

• Rinse basmati rice or any regular rice a couple of times in water.
• Then soak the rice in water for 20 to 30 minutes. Later drain the rice and keep it aside.
• Chop the tomatoes, onions, and green chilies finely. Peel and crush the ginger garlic in a mortar pestle. Also, chop the mint and coriander leaves
• Keep aside all the spices required for the rice.

Sautéing onions, tomatoes, spices

• In a 3-liter pressure cooker, heat the oil. Keep the flame to a low and add mustard seeds and crackle them. Then add fenugreek seeds and just lightly fry for a couple of seconds without burning them.
• Then add finely chopped onions and cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves.
• Stir and sauté until the onions turn translucent and soften.
• Add the ginger-garlic paste, chopped green chilies, and curry leaves.
• Stir and sauté for some seconds until the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away
• Now add chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves.
• Stir and saute for a minute.
• Keep heat to a low or switch off the heat. Add the finely chopped tomatoes and turmeric powder, red chili powder, black pepper powder or crushed black pepper, coriander powder, and cumin powder.
• Mix very well and sauté the tomatoes until they soften and become pulpy with oil released from the sides.

Cooking tomato rice

• Add the soaked rice. Gently mix the rice with the tomato mixture very well. Sauté for a minute.
• Add 1.75 cups water. For a softer consistency in the rice, you can also add 2 cups of water.
• Season with salt as per taste.
• Cover and pressure cook tomato rice for 2 whistles on medium flame or about 10 to 11 minutes. To get softer rice, you can also pressure cook for 3 whistles.
• When the pressure settles down on its own. Then remove the lid and gently fluff the tomato rice.
• Serve tomato rice with appalams or chips or with side raita.