This is my aunt’s special recipe and she has been using it for ages to impress her guests (and my uncle of course). If you love South Indian rice recipes, then you may like this raw mango rice recipe, puliogare, or a simple lemon rice recipe.
Thakkali Sadam is a great dish to pack away for a trip or for lunch box for work or school. It tastes good even after it’s gone cold and all you need is a good raita or papad to pair it up with. I used to regularly take Thakkali Sadam in my lunchbox to school and all my Malayali friends who don’t eat it that often would love to take a bite or two.
THAKKALI SADAM RECIPE
Rice – 2 cups
Tomatoes – 3 ripe medium-sized ones
Onion – 1 medium, very finely chopped
Salt – to taste
Dry-roast and grind:
Coriander seeds (malli) – 1.5 tbsp
Chana dal – 2 tbsp
Red chillies – 5 or 6
Fenugreek seeds (methi/uluva) – 1/2 tsp
For tempering:
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Chana dal – 1 tsp
Green chillies – 3, chopped fine
Peanuts – 1/2 cup (I use slightly more since I like their crunch in the rice)
Asafoetida/hing – a pinch
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves – a few
Sesame oil (nallennai) – 2 tbsp
How to Make Thakkali Sadam
1. Dry roast and grind the list of ingredients under that head and leave aside to cool. Make sure that you don’t burn the fenugreek while roasting. To avoid this, add it once the other ingredients are almost roasted.
2. Cook the rice. Make sure that its not overcooked or too mushy. I used ponni rice but basmati brings out a nice flavour and unique taste to the dish.
3. Heat the oil and temper mustard seeds and urad dal. Add the chana dal, green chillies, peanuts and chopped onions and saute for about 2 to 3 mins.
4. Then add the turmeric, hing and the curry leaves. Fry for another minute or two.
5. Add the ground powder (masala) and fry for another 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Now add the chopped tomatoes and mix well. Keep the fire on low and cook till the raw smell leaves the mixture. This should take about 10 to 12 mins. Add salt. The oil will begin to separate. Make sure that the mixture is a thick paste and not watery (in short, don’t add water).
7. Once done, mix in the rice, stir well until blended well and serve hot with raita, pickle and papad.
Sure looks authentic and nice pictures..
Hi, I think your site is amazing and the food looks absolutely delicious. I’d like to try some recipes soon! If I post them on my blog, I will include a link to you and give you credit for the recipe of course. I hope this is ok?
I have some questions though re: this recipe.
Can you give me another name for these things as I’ve never heard of them before:
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Chana dal – 1 tsp
And: Asafoetida/hing ?
J – Absolutely! But I wouldn’t suggest storing for over a month cuz I feel the flavour will be lost. It won’t go bad though. I would store it in the freezer, just to be on the safer side 🙂
Hi Nags,
Tomato rice ( similar to the quick version you posted) is a quick fix dish on weekdays.. Thank you for this authentic recipe..
Can we prepare the masala powder and store it in the fridge for later use?
Thanks!
J
Happy Diwali!
The paste looks good enough to eat just on its own! And it’s not that complicated at all!
I don’t know on how I stumbled upon this cooking blog., All I know is that I’d better check out the archives for a good read. Ha-ha! Just droppin’ to say hi!
Oh. You might want to check this out: https://www.technocooks.com for uhm…a different “menu.”
yummm .. i love tomato rice .. this version is new to me .. looks fab .. shall give it a try
Tomato rice sounds interesting! I tried twice to see the pictures but the space seems to be empty.
nice to hear from you after a long time :))
This looks really tasty. Greeks have a tomato rice too, and it is spiced, but not quite as much as this.