This Tomato Rice Pulao recipe is a delicious one-pot recipe that brings together the goodness of spices, long-grained rice and tomatoes. This easy tomato rice recipe is my version of the classic South Indian dish called Thakkali Sadam, that is, tomato rice. It uses pantry staple ingredients and comes together in no time.
This Tomato Rice or Tomato Pulao recipe is a vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian, and an absolute no-fuss recipe. It is a wonderful Indian vegetarian meal option for busy weekdays. It is equally good for dinners as well as packed work lunches. You can always adjust the spice levels of this tomato rice recipe to suit your palate and bring some creativity to your plate by adding spices of your choice.
Tomato Rice Recipe Ingredients
- Long-grained Basmati Rice for the perfectly textured fried rice
- Tomatoes– plump & juicy to get some sweet tomato puree
- Meat Masala powder – the spice mix will give the best flavor punch to this tomato rice recipe. Alternate would be Sambhar Masala powder, Curry Powder, and even Garam Masala powder.
- Herbs & Aromatics – Finishing with a handful of freshly chopped Coriander Leaves
I looked up on the internet, and I saw tomato rice recipes that include a slight variation to this. So, I am not going to claim that my version is authentic, but this is how my family makes it and how we have enjoyed it on special occasions when it would be a part of the festive menu.
Tomato Rice Recipe Instructions
- Chop the tomatoes and blitz them into a smooth puree. Use only ripened sweet tomatoes for their flavor.
- Wash the basmati rice and let it sit on a sieve so that the water is drained completely
- Heat the oil in a pan and add a pinch of cumin seeds. As they splutter, pour the tomato puree. Season it with salt and fry it on medium-low heat till it dries up. You will notice that it has darkened a bit in color with oil released at the edge.
- Add the meat masala powder and fry for a couple of minutes. If you don’t have this spice mix then you can use sambhar powder, curry powder, or garam masala powder instead. Use your judgment for the quantity of spice powder used.
- Add the washed rice and water. Give it a gentle stir, making sure that the tomato spice mix has dissolved completely
- Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer for 15 minutes or so. Once the water is absorbed completely, turn off the heat.
- Fluff the rice using a fork or a chopstick. This would make the rice non-sticky
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot
Serving Suggestions:
This Tomato Rice is a mildly spicy rice dish and for this reason I prefer serving tomato rice with chilled yoghurt raita. It balances the spiciness of the dish perfectly by providing a contrast in flavors. Pair it with cooling accompaniments like cucumber raita or a zesty side salad.
More Rice Recipes
No point in guessing that rice is very important to us. So, no festive meal would be complete without some fancy rice dish that would complement the side dishes.
Here, I have some quite unusual rice recipes along with the regular ones which can let you have some ideas for your party menu.
- Basanti Pulao or Bengali Fragrant Pilaf Recipe
- Mishti Pulao or Bengali Sweet Pilaf Recipe
- Orange Rice Recipe
- Doodh Chicken Biryani
- Coconut Milk Rice
- Broccoli Fried Rice Recipe
- One-Pot Easy Veg Fried Rice Recipe
- Vegetable Fried Rice with Soya Chunks
- Instant Pot Masoor Dal Pulao | Masoor Biryani Recipe
- Bhuni Khichuri│Bengali Spicy Mung Bean Pilaf Recipe
Have you tried this recipe? I would love to hear about it.
Tag me on Instagram @priyankabhattacharya.sa or Facebook @hashdiaries and I will share it further.
This Tomato Rice Pulao recipe is a delicious one-pot recipe that brings together the goodness of spices, long-grained rice and tomatoes. This easy tomato rice recipe is my version of the classic South Indian dish called Thakkali Sadam, that is, tomato rice. It uses pantry staple ingredients and comes together in no time.
- 1 cup Basmati Rice
- 5 Tomatoes medium sized
- 3 tbsp Refined Sunflower oil
- 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp Meat Masala
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 cup Coriander leaves Finely chopped for garnish
- 2 cups Water – lukewarm
- Chop the tomatoes and blitz them into a smooth puree
- Wash the rice and allow them to strain on a sieve
- Heat the oil in a pan and temper it with cumin seeds
- As they splutter, pour the tomato puree. Season it with salt and fry it on medium-low heat till it dries up, darkens in colour and starts releasing oil at the edges.
- Now, add the meat masala and fry for couple of minutes
- Add the washed rice and water
- Give it a gentle stir, making sure that tomato spice mix has dissolved completely
- Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer for 15 mins or so. Once the water as been absorbed completely, turn off the heat.
- Using a fork or chopstick, fluff the rice and let the steam escape. This would make the rice non-sticky
- Add the chopped Coriander leaves and serve hot
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