Thakkali Sadham/Tomato Rice

Quote of the day: As a child of God, I am greater than anything that can happen to me. Abdul Kalam .

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Today`s recipe of Thakkali Sadham/Tomato Rice is very popular among our family and friends. This is Amma`s favorite rice dish and I am a huge fan of it too. She prepares it often and has never been tired of it. Made with loads of tomato and spiced aptly with green chillies & garam masala, this rice preparation is utterly delicious. Eat it as is, of course, with thayir pachadi/raitha or with Salna, Kurma Or Non-Veg Gravy. Either way, they are deeply satisfying!

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups Basmati Rice
2. 1 cup finely sliced onions
3. 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
4. 6 to 7 green chillies (Thai chillies)
5. 8 tomatoes ( I used Roma tomatoes )
6. 1½ cups coconut milk
7. 2-1 inch piece cinnamon
8. 4 to 5 cloves
9. 4 Cardamom
10. 2 to 3 bay leaves
11. ½ cup packed finely chopped cilantro
12. ½ cup packed finely chopped mint/pudina
13. ½ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder
14. ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
15. 2 teaspoon salt
16. 4 tablespoon oil
17. 2 tablespoon ghee/clarified butter.

Procedure:

1. Wash and soak the rice for half an hour.
2. Heat a pan, chop the tomatoes and add them to the pan. Keep stirring occasionally until they reach a thick sauce consistency. When cool grind to a smooth paste.
3. Grind the green chillies and set aside.
4. Grind half of the pudina/mint and cilantro and set aside.
5. In a heavy bottomed vessel or a pressure cooker, heat the oil and ghee and add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaves. When they pop, add the onions and sauté until they turn golden brown.
6. To this add the ginger garlic paste and sauté well for another minute.
7. Add the ground chillies and sauté until the raw smell goes.
8. Now add the tomatoe paste and all the powders, sauté well for few minutes until thick masala forms.
9. Then add the pudina cilantro paste and sauté well for few more minutes,  add remaining pudina/mint and cilantro and mix well to the masala.
10. Add 1½ cups coconut milk and 1½ cups of water and 2 teaspoon salt. When it starts to boil, add the rice and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Serve with pachadi and salna.

 

TIPS: I used fresh tomatoes, frozen tomatoes can also be used. I have used the homemade ginger garlic paste, if it is store bought then I would add 1/2 teaspoon more. ( homemade tends to be strong in flavor, check before using ginger garlic paste).

Fresh coconut milk is used in this recipe, 4 tablespoon coconut milk powder mixed with 1/2 cup warm water can be used instead. I usually add 1: 1.5 cups when using Basmati rice ( 1 part rice & 1.5 parts water) , for Sona masuri rice add 1:2.

To prepare coconut milk ~ In a blender put 1 cup grated coconut, add warm water and grind smooth. Cover a bowl with a sieve and pour the ground coconut paste into the sieve/cloth. Squeeze the coconut to extract as much liquid as possible into the bowl. The first pressed extract is the thick milk. Repeat the process two more times. The second and third pressed milk is the thin milk.  The coconut milk can be stored in the freezer to be used later. Adjust the water quantity, to change the consistency and thickness of coconut milk according to your needs.

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