Friday, March 1, 2013

Thakkali Saadam/ Tomato Rice


          My daughter is not a big rice eater, anytime, she prefers rotis, idlis or dosas to it, the only exception being a couple of mixed rice varieties, like the lemon, tomato and tamarind and of course thayir saadam. Tomato rice is an all time favorite as far as my family is concerned. There are a couple of versions of it, I follow my mother's, no masala items, the green chillies give an unique flavor to it, a simple but extremely delicious one..

Need To Have

  • Rice - 2 cups
  • Tomatoes - 13 medium
  • Green Chillies - 10 chopped
  • Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
  • Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
  • Chana Dal/ Bengal Gram - 2 tablespoons
  • Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
  • Curry Leaves - 20
  • Salt - to taste

Method


          Chop the tomatoes finely. Cook the 2 cups rice and cool it. Heat some oil, add the chana dal and the mustard seeds, once it starts spluttering, add the asafoetida, green chillies and curry leaves.


          Mix for a few seconds, then add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder and salt. Keep cooking till the tomatoes become mushy and all the moisture dries up and oil starts leaving on the sides. This takes anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes, depending upon the quantity, the pan used and the amount of heat. Cool the mixture and mix it with the cooled rice. Serve it at room temperature.


Note
Use ripe, juicy tomatoes.
When I was in the US, I used to add a couple of tablespoons of canned crushed tomatoes, if the tomatoes were not sour enough.
Also once the moisture dries up, do the last part of the cooking on low heat, then only the tomatoes will start leaving oil, otherwise it will start sticking to the pan.
Mix in the masala, a little at a time to the rice, taste and add more.
I recommend raw rice or parboiled rice ( at Indian stores), or long grain jasmine rice, not basmati rice, the flavor from the basmati rice spoils the dish.
Pin It

21 comments:

  1. Simple comforting rice Hema and my favorite, i love to have them with curd and pappad

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love simple and delicious rice dish. This looks so yum!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love this simple and delicious rice, one of my fav rice too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks delicious. Its been ages since I made it. Thanks for reminding me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tomato rice looks delicious love that separate grains.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks simple, usually we follow the same method except we add onions to it

    ReplyDelete
  7. Drooling here .....Healthy and yummy rice !!!
    shrutirasoi

    Today's Recipe
    Baked Fish

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tomato rice is my favourite too.Love to try new versions!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Simple and delicious rice.. Perfect for packing lunch..

    ReplyDelete
  10. delicious and healthy rice..

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love this rice always...beautiful color. Yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  12. wowww....this looks amazing..treat to eyes..

    ReplyDelete
  13. I would definitely enjoy this version. I think my son would too. Thanks for sharing.

    Velva

    ReplyDelete
  14. One of my favorite variety rices...awesome..

    ReplyDelete
  15. one of my fav rice dishes too!

    ReplyDelete