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    Home » Lunchbox Recipes » Tomato Rice | Thakkali Saadam

    Tomato Rice | Thakkali Saadam

    Posted on July 23, 2018 · Last Updated on March 17, 2019 · By Srividhya G · 2 Comments

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    Make this delicious tomato rice with the fresh seasonal tomatoes and minimal spices for your lunch box today. Guess what, you can prepare the tomato rice paste well ahead and cook it when needed and prepare this tomato rice aka thakkali sadam. Here comes my tomato rice recipe with the flavors of cumin seeds but without any garam masala.

    Tomato rice is one of the favorite lunch box recipes, and there are many ways to prepare this recipe. You can make this with garam masala and mint more like tomato biryani or without mint more like tomato pulav. And here is a unique version that doesn’t need any garam masala or the biryani spices like cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds, etc.

    All you need for this recipe is – tomatoes, shallots, red chilies, cumin seeds, rice and the regular tempering spices. I learned this recipe from my aunt, and this is vaandu’s favorite lunch box recipe these days.

    Make Ahead Tomato Rice Paste:

    As I mentioned above, you can prepare the sauce or base for this recipe well ahead. I usually make it the day before, and in the morning I saute the sauce and mix the rice with it. So how to make the tomato rice paste? Just grind the tomatoes, shallots, red chilies, cumin seeds without any water. That’s it. Your tomato rice paste is ready. When needed, do the tempering and cook the sauce and mix the cooked rice. You can use leftover rice also for this recipe. Curry leaves and channa dal for tempering adds a unique texture and flavor to this rice recipe.

    Variety Rice Recipes with Vegetables for Lunch Box:

    You can find quite a few vegetables based variety rice recipes on my blog for lunch box. Here are a few –

    • Ridgegourd Rice
    • Ivy gourd Rice
    • Brinjal Rice
    • Beetroot Rice
    • Zucchini Rice

    Ingredients:

    • Rice – 1 cup (Any rice is preferable basmati or sona masoori)
    • Water – 2 cups
    • Salt 1.5 tsp
    • Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp
    • To Grind:
    • Ripe tomatoes – 3
    • Small onions – 5-6
    • Red chilies – 3
    • Cumin Seeds 1 tbsp
    • Hing – ¼ tsp
    • To Temper
    • Oil – 3 tsps
    • Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
    • Urad dal – 1 tsp
    • Channa dal – 2 tsps
    • Curry leaves – 1 strand

    Prep – Work:

    • Cook the rice in your preferred way by adding two cups of water and allow it to cool.
    • Grind the tomatoes, small onion, red chilies and cumin seeds into a smooth paste.

    Steps:

    • Heat the oil in a pan or kadai.
    • Add mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, and hing.
    • When they splutter add curry leaves. Now add the ground paste, turmeric powder, and salt.
    • Cook the paste until all the moisture is absorbed. It takes about five to seven minutes. Then turn off the heat.
    • Now add rice and mix it well.

    That’s it. Tomato Rice is ready. Serve it with raita or potato curry.

    Notes:

    • Adjust the salt and spices as per your preference.
    • I use Roma tomatoes, and they are not tangy. But if you use other tangy varieties, please adjust the salt and chilies accordingly.
    • You can use any rice for this tomato rice.
    • Please try not to skip curry leaves and channa dal.
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    5 from 1 vote

    Tomato Rice | Thakkali Saadam

    Tomato rice recipe with the flavors of cumin seeds but without any garam masala. A perfect kid's friendly lunch box recipe with fresh tomatoes & minimal spices.
    Prep Time30 mins
    Cook Time15 mins
    Rice cooking Time20 mins
    Total Time45 mins
    Course: Entree
    Cuisine: TamilNadu
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 265kcal
    Author: Srividhya G

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup Uncooked Rice Any rice is preferable basmati or sona masoori
    • 2 cups Water
    • 1.5 tsp Salt
    • ½ tsp Turmeric Powder

    To Grind:

    • 3 Ripe tomatoes
    • 5 Small onions
    • 3 Red chilies
    • 1 tbsp Cumin Seeds

    To Temper

    • 3 tsps Oil
    • 1 tsp Mustard seeds
    • 1 tsp Urad dal
    • 2 tsps Channa dal
    • ¼ tsp Asafetida
    • 5 Curry leaves

    Instructions

    Prep - Work:

    • Cook the rice in your preferred way by adding two cups of water and allow it to cool.
    • Grind the tomatoes, small onion, red chilies and cumin seeds into a smooth paste.

    Steps:

    • Heat the oil in a pan or kadai.
    • Add mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, and hing.
    • When they splutter add curry leaves. Now add the ground paste, turmeric powder, and salt.
    • Cook the paste until all the moisture is absorbed. It takes about five to seven minutes. Then turn off the heat.
    • Now add rice and mix it well.
    • That's it. Tomato Rice is ready. Serve it with raita or potato curry.

    Notes

    • Adjust the salt and spices as per your preference.
    • I used Roma tomatoes, and they are not tangy. But if you use other tangy varieties, please adjust the salt and chilies accordingly.
    • You can use any rice for this tomato rice.
    • Please try not to skip curry leaves and channa dal.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 265kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 895mg | Potassium: 511mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1155IU | Vitamin C: 88.6mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 2.7mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen
    For Video RecipesCheck out My YouTube Channel
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    Filed Under: Lunchbox Recipes, Variety Rice Tagged With: easy lunch box recipes, kids friendly lunch box recipes, lunch box recipes, thakkali sadam, Tomato rice, variety rice

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Stephanie says

      July 30, 2021 at 7:39 am

      Can you serve Thakkali Saadam cold with Raita?

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        July 30, 2021 at 10:59 am

        Yes. As long as the rice is not super dry, you can serve this at room temperature, not too cold.

        Reply

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