Thakkali Sadam | Tomato Rice Recipe
Thakkali Sadam or tomato rice is a common lunch box recipe or an item much preferred during an outing or a picnic. It also is a wonderful quick and easy recipe to make with left over rice. Paired with curd rice / yogurt rice, this is one of our favorite lunch or dinner.
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Total Time30 minutes mins
Course: Main Course, Rice Dishes
Cuisine: Indian, South Indian
Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 248kcal
- 1 cup Rice I use sona masoori rice
- 1 ½ cups Tomatoes about 4 large - chopped into small cubes
- 1 cup Onion sliced
- 3 Green chilies Finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Ullatham paruppu / Urad dal/ Black gram dal
- 1 teaspoon Kadalai paruppu / channa dal / Bengal gram dal Channa dal
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Red chili powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Asafetida
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- to taste Salt
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- few Curry leaves
Cook the rice and cool it down on a wide plate or bowl. I cook my rice in Instant pot.
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When it splutters, add the urad dal and chana dal.
When the lentils turn golden brown, add the chopped onions, green chilies, asafetida and curry leaves. Sauté until the onions turns translucent (about 4-5 mins).
Now add the chopped tomatoes, chili powder, turmeric powder, salt and sugar. Sugar balances the acidity of the tomatoes and adds a nice flavor to the tomato rice.
Cover the pan and simmer until the tomatoes are cooked (about 8 mins). Now open the lid and let the extra moisture evaporate. The base for the tomato rice (also called the tomato thokku) is ready.
Add this tomato thokku to the rice and mix well. Adjust the salt and serve with Appalam or vadam.
Expert tips
- Cook the rice with a little less water than you would to make sure that the rice is separated and not mushy.
- I also like to cool down the rice a bit before mixing it with the prepared tomato rice paste.
- When packing for lunch box or or for travel, make sure to cool down the tomato rice before packing. This prolongs the shelf life of tomato rice.
- We can make the tomato rice paste ahead of time and refrigerate it. This way we can use it any time we need it.
- I like to add a touch ghee (if not making it vegan) as it adds a nice layer of flavor.
- Adding a little sugar when making the tomato rice paste balances the acid.
Calories: 248kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 127mg | Potassium: 248mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 615IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg