Tomato Rice | Thakkali Sadam

Tomato rice (thakkali sadam) is a quick, easy, and flavorful South Indian rice recipe made using cooked rice, ripe plum tomatoes, and a few spices.

One-pot rice dishes are a life savior for me during busy weekdays. Now that I’m juggling between my kids having different school timings, I do not get the time to make an elaborate meal.

This easy tomato rice is a quick meal to put together if you have some leftover rice sitting in the fridge.

Pair it with boondi raita or any other raita along with some crispy rice papadum and pickle! It makes for such a super flavorful and filling meal. Sometimes, I deliberately make extra rice just to make these quick rice recipes!

There are a number of rice recipes made all over India. And this tomato rice happens to be one of our absolute favorites.

What is thakkali sadam?

‘Thakkali’ means tomatoes and ‘sadam’ or ‘sadham’ means cooked rice in Tamil.

So basically precooked rice is tossed in a spiced onion-tomato masala to make thakkali sadam.

Tomato rice is one of the most popular rice dishes in the state of Tamil Nadu in Southern India.

It is interesting to note that there are different versions of tomato rice prepared all over the world.

The other version that I’ve tried is Mexican red rice. Then there are also Greek, Israeli, Portuguese, Malay, Vietnamese versions, and probably even more which I’ve yet to come across.

Ingredients needed

To make this recipe, you will need

Rice: Traditionally, short-grained rice is used in this recipe. But I’ve used basmati rice.

Tomatoes: I’ve used desi tomatoes which are perfect to add that hint of tang required in this recipe.

Lentils: Urad dal and chana dal are the most common lentils used in tempering South Indian dishes.

Mustard seeds and cumin seeds: For the tempering.

Spices: This rice dish is minimally spiced so that the tomato flavor shines through. You will just need some hing (asafoetida), turmeric powder, Kashmiri chili powder (mainly added for color), salt, and a very tiny pinch of garam masala, which is optional.

Cooking fat: I’ve used sunflower oil and ghee in this recipe. You can use your preferred cooking oil.

Aromatics: You will need some finely chopped onions, minced ginger, and garlic. You can also use ginger garlic paste. Ginger and garlic are optional, but I love adding them. You can skip the onion and garlic for a Jain version.

Other ingredients: You will also need some curry leaves for the tempering and coriander leaves to add some fresh flavor and also garnish the rice.

Why make it?

☑ Quick, easy, and flavorful

☑ A delicious way to use up leftover rice

☑ Perfect to be packed in the lunchbox

☑ Made with simple pantry ingredients

☑ Can be adapted to make it vegan and gluten-free

How to make tomato rice (thakkali sadam) – Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Tempering

Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.

Let it heat up a bit, then add 3/4 teaspoon of mustard seeds (rai) and allow them to pop. Next, add 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds, and allow them to crackle. (Photos 1 and 2)

Lower the heat and add 1 teaspoon each of chana dal and urad dal, saute on medium-low heat, until the lentils begin to turn a nice golden brown. (Photos 3 and 4)

Next, add 1/8 teaspoon hing, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of minced ginger, 2 sprigs of curry leaves, and 2 green chilies, and saute until the raw smell of ginger and garlic goes away. (Photos 5 to 10)

Step 2: Saute onion, tomatoes, and spices

Next, add 3/4 cup of chopped onions, and saute until translucent. (Photos 11 and 12)

Then add 2 cups of chopped tomatoes, and salt, and mix well. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat. (Photos 13 and 14)

Open the lid, and cook, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes turn mushy and the oil separates from the sides. (Photo 15)

Then add 1 teaspoon of Kashmiri chili powder, 1/8 teaspoon of turmeric, and 1/4 teaspoon of garam masala, mix well, and cook for another 30 seconds. (Photos 16 to 19)

Add 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves, mix well and cook for another few seconds. (Photos 20 and 21)

Make sure that there is no moisture at this stage. If the tomato masala is watery, it will make the entire dish mushy.

Step 3: Mix cooked rice with onion-tomato masala

Add 3 to 3.5 cups of cooked basmati rice and 1 tablespoon of ghee, and mix it well with the masala. (Photos 22 and 23)

Cover, and simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes. (Photo 24)

Switch off the heat and leave it undisturbed for another 10 minutes.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of coriander leaves, and fluff the rice gently. (Photos 25 and 26)

Dish out and serve with raita.

Serving Suggestions

Thakkali sadam is a delicious standalone dish. It doesn’t need many sides.

You can serve it as is, or along with some;

• Boondi raita, onion tomato raita, or any other raita of your choice
• Plain yogurt
• Kachumber or a light salad
• Fryums or papadum
• Pickle
• An omelet or fried egg

Storage instructions

Leftovers: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Reheat in a microwave (add a splash of water) or over the stovetop on medium-low heat until thoroughly heated through.

Make-ahead: You can make the onion-tomato mixture in advance and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to two days. When you want to make thakkali sadam, simply mixed the cooked rice with the tomato mixture and heat on medium-low heat over the stovetop.

Recipe Tips And Variations

Rice: This recipe is best made with precooked rice as it is done traditionally. Using raw rice for this recipe to make it from scratch makes this more of a tomato pulao. If making it from scratch, use the correct quantity of rice and water.

If using freshly cooked rice for this recipe: Make sure you allow it to cool down completely or the rice grains might break when you mix it with tomato masala and the entire dish will turn mushy.

Tomatoes: This recipe tastes best when made with ripe, plum, and slightly tart tomatoes. Desi tomatoes work best here, but if using other varieties like Hybrid, Roma, etc, you may add about 2- 3 tablespoons of fresh tamarind extract to add that required tang. Or you may squeeze some lemon juice in the end!

Cook the tomatoes well: It is important to cook the tomatoes really well or the dish won’t taste right. Cook the tomatoes until the oil separates which is a good indicator that the masala is cooked well. Add a splash of water if needed to prevent the masala from sticking to the bottom of the pot and continue cooking till the oil separates from the sides.

Avoid adding too many spices: It overpowers the flavor of the tomatoes. if you want to, you may add whole spices like cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. I’ve skipped adding it as I didn’t want to give it that pulao flavor profile.

Pinch of sugar: This can be added to balance out the tartness of the tomatoes.

Make it vegan & gluten-free: Skip the ghee or swap it with vegan ghee and skip the hing or make sure you are using gluten-free hing.

Add vegetables: You can add 1 cup of mixed vegetables like diced carrots, peas, cauliflower, corn, mushroom, etc, to make it even more wholesome.

Nuts: You can also add some cashew nuts and peanuts to the tempering to add some crunch to this recipe for textural contrast.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use other varieties of rice to make this recipe?

Of course, yes! You can use any variety of rice for this recipe. Sona masoori, surti kolam, ponni rice, seeraga samba, parboiled rice, or even brown rice works great. If rice is not your thing, you may even swap it with cooked quinoa or millets.

Can I make this in the stovetop pressure cooker or Instant Pot?

Traditionally this South Indian tomato rice is mde with cooked rice. But you can most certainly make it with raw rice. As I mentioned above it will be more of a tomato pulao or tomato bath recipe.

Here are the instructiuons;

Rinse 1 cup of basmati rice under running water, until the water runs clear. Soak in enough water for 20-30 minutes. In the meanwhile prep your ingredients.

For the stovetop pressure cooker: After you are done with the tomato masala, add the rinsed and drained rice and saute for 1-2 minutes.

Next, add 1.5 to 1.75 cups of water (1.5 cups will give distinct rice grains, and 1.75 cups of water will yield softer rice) and mix well. Check for salt and adjust if needed at this stage. The water should taste salty. Cover the cooker with the lid and pressure cook on medium heat for 2 whistles. Let the cooker depressurize on its own before opening the lid. Fluff the rice with a fork.

For the Instant Pot: Add 1 to 1.25 cups water, depending on how soft you like the rice. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of NPR (natural pressure release).

Please note that this quantity of water works best for basmati rice. Some varieties of rice need more water and a longer time to cook. So use the kind of rice you have worked with before or you will either end up with either mushy rice or al dente rice.

Is it spicy?

This recipe is not very spicy since I’ve not used the spicy variety of green chilies, or chili powder. There is some amount of heat from the ginger in this recipe. Kashmiri chili powder adds a beautiful red color sans the heat.

If you prefer more heat, add spicy green chilies, red chili powder (the spicy variety), and black pepper powder.

Can I use canned tomatoes?

Though fresh tomatoes work best in this recipe, canned ones will work in a pinch. You can use a 14.5 oz can of diced or crushed tomatoes.

What about using fresh tomato puree?

It is absolutely fine to use tomato puree too. To save time, you can blend the tomatoes and use the puree instead of dicing them up. But make sure you cook it really well until the oil separates.

You may also enjoy these Indian rice recipes

Palak rice

Pudina rice

Bagara rice

Mushroom pilaf

Have you made this recipe?

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