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Home >> Recipes >> Rice Recipes

Coconut rice recipe | Thengai sadam

By swasthi , on August 22, 2019, 56 Comments, Jump to Recipe

Coconut rice is an easy and flavorful rice dish made with fresh grated coconut, tempering spices, curry leaves and rice. It is one of the most basic South Indian foods made for a meal during festivals and occasions. This simple yet delicious coconut rice is flavorful and easy to make. The ingredients like curry leaves, fresh grated coconut, chilies, ginger and hing impart wonderful and unique flavors to the dish.

coconut rice

It is also known as Thengai sadam and kobbari annam in the South Indian regional languages.

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It is usually served without any side or accompaniment. However any curry goes really well with this. My mom always made this with a Vegetable kurma or Mix veg curry. Some papads, veg salad & plain yogurt on the side would make a great complete meal.

There are 2 ways a coconut rice is made in South India. The first one is just made by tempering all the spices and curry leaves. To this coconut and precooked rice are mixed. This method of making is the easiest if you have some precooked rice and fresh grated coconut. I have shared this method in this post.

The other version is a one pot dish where the rice is cooked with spices and coconut milk. You can find that version here – Coconut milk rice.

I mostly make this for the kids lunch box and pack with sliced carrots and cucumbers. Kurma curries like potato kurma, paneer kurma, soya chunks kurma also go well with this.

The recipe shared here is a simple one made with basic ingredients. Sometimes I also like adding a handful of grated carrot or little grated raw mango or a tbsp of lemon juice, mint leaves or coriander leaves.

More Coconut Recipes
Coconut milk rice
8 Coconut chutney recipes
Easy Coconut ladoo
Coconut burfi

Preparation

You can skip the preparation section if you have precooked and cooled rice that is grainy. I have shown below how to cook it perfectly to make coconut rice.
1. You can use any kind of rice. Usually in South India ponni or sona masuri is used.

Rice in a pot for cooking

2. Rinse 1 cup rice well a few times and drain the water. Cook the rice in what ever way you like. I usually wash rice thrice and then soak for sometime.

rinsing rice to cook

3. Cook rice Method 1: Drain the water and bring 2 cups of water to a rolling boil. Add the drained rice and cook covered on a low flame until fully cooked. Rice must be fully cooked but firm and grainy.

cooking basmati rice to make coconut rice

4. Cook rice Method 2: You can also pressure cook in your preferred method. I pressure cook for 2 whistles if using ponni or sona masuri aged rice. If using basmati then you can cook in a pot, then drain off the water. Or pressure cook for 1 whistle with 1¾ cup water.

pressure cooking rice

5. Once fully cooked, fluff it up with a fork and cool completely.

Cooling cooked basmati rice
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How to make coconut rice

6. Heat 2 tablespoons oil or ghee in a pan. Add the following:

  • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon chana dal
  • ½ urad dal
  • 12 to 15 cashews
  • 1 broken dried red chilli. Saute until the dals turn golden, then add
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 1 to 2 slit green chilies
  • 1 teaspoon chopped ginger. If you prefer to keep the cashews crunchy, fry them first and remove to a plate. Then make the tempering.
tempering spices in oil

7. On a low flame fry until the leaves turn crisp, then pour 2 to 3 tbsps water. The water will evaporate soon and soften the chana dal and urad dal. If you want to soften the dals more, add another 2 to 3 tbsps water. When the water evaporates completely, add 1 pinch of hing. I had some bits of coconut left over, I chopped it and added as well. I fried until it turned aromatic and golden.

tempering with crisp fried curry leaves in a pan

8. Add 1 to 1½ cups coconut, ½ teaspoon salt and cooled rice. If using frozen coconut, fry the coconut first for a while until hot. Then add rice and salt. Since I used fresh coconut, I prefer not to fry the coconut as the heat in the pan is good enough to partially warm it up.

adding coconut to the pan
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9. Switch off the stove immediately and mix everything well. Taste test and add more salt.

mixing rice with tempering

Serve coconut rice with a simple curry or yogurt and a veg salad.

coconut rice recipe

More Rice recipes
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Ven pongal
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Coconut rice (Thengai sadam)

This South Indian coconut rice is super quick to make if you have some precooked rice, tempering spices & grated fresh coconut. Serve it with any curry or plain yogurt.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Servings3
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • 1 cup uncooked rice (any kind, or 3 to 4 cups cooked rice)
  • 1 to 1½ cup coconut grated (fresh or frozen) (adjust to taste)
  • ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
  • 1 to 2 green chili (slit or chopped)
  • 1 dried red chili (broken to 2 pieces) (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons oil or ghee
  • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (optional)
  • 1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
  • 1 tablespoon chana dal (bengal gram)
  • ½ tablespoon urad dal (skinned split black lentils)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger (fine chopped)
  • 12 to 15 cashewnuts or peanuts
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Instructions

Preparation

  • Wash rice at least thrice and drain the water. If using basmati rice, soak it for 20 to 30 mins.
  • To cook rice in pot, bring 2 cups water to a rolling boil and add the rice. Cook covered on a low heat until fully done but not mushy.
  • To pressure cook basmat rice, pour 1¾ cups water & pressure cook for 1 whistle. To pressure cook normal rice, pour 2 cups & pressure cook for 2 whistles. The rice must be grainy and not mushy. When the pressure releases, open the lid.
  • Fluff up the cooked rice with a fork and cool completely.
  • Slit the green chilies, fine chop ginger, and grate the coconut. If using frozen coconut, break up the lumps and loosen the coconut.

Making coconut rice

  • Pour 2 tablespoons ghee or oil to a pan and heat it.
  • Fry cashews or peanuts until golden. Remove to a plate and set aside.
  • Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilli, chana dal and urad dal. Saute them and fry until the dals turn golden and aromatic.
  • Then add ginger, slit green chilli & curry leaves. Saute for 30 to 60 seconds until the curry leaves turn crisp. Add hing.
  • Optional – Quickly pour 2 to 3 tablespoons water to the pan. This will soften the dals and bring out the flavors of the ginger and curry leaves. If you want your dal to be very soft, then you can add little more water. Cook until all of the water evaporates.
  • Then add fresh coconut and sprinkle salt on it. Then add rice. Off the heat. If using frozen coconut, then saute the coconut a bit until it becomes hot. Then add the rice.
  • Mix well and taste test. Add more salt if needed. Serve coconut rice with a simple curry or plain yogurt.
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Notes

  • Avoid using mushy rice.
  • You can adjust the amount of coconut to your liking
  • Add some lemon juice if you like.

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Coconut rice (Thengai sadam)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 513 Calories from Fat 234
% Daily Value*
Fat 26g40%
Saturated Fat 13g81%
Sodium 451mg20%
Potassium 310mg9%
Carbohydrates 62g21%
Fiber 7g29%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 9g18%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 23mg2%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

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Coconut rice recipe | Thengai sadam
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About swasthi

I’m Swasthi shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthis recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills.
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Reader Interactions

Comments

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  2. Thila says

    October 22, 2020

    5 stars
    HI there
    thank you for all your yummilicious recepies 😀

    Regards,
    Thila

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      October 28, 2020

      Hi,
      You are welcome!

      Reply
  3. Vijaya Pulivarthi says

    September 30, 2020

    Hi, can we use decicated coconut . What changes could be done ?

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      September 30, 2020

      Hi,
      You may try soaking desiccated coconut in little hot milk for a while until it softens. Then use it the same way I mentioned in the recipe. But I am not sure if it tastes the same.

      Reply
  4. Julie says

    August 11, 2020

    5 stars
    I had some fresh coconut and was looking for a recipe to use it. I found this recipe and prepared it last night. It’s so easy and so tasty! My husband loved it. I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes. Thank you!

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      August 12, 2020

      Welcome Julie
      Glad to know it turned out good. Thanks for leaving a comment
      🙂

      Reply
  5. Meenakshi says

    August 9, 2020

    Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! I am writing for advice about using frozen coconut. I have some that is in small slices, not grated. Do you have any recommendations for how to prepare it before using it in the rice? I was thinking of frying it slightly and then grinding it.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      August 10, 2020

      Hi Meenakshi,
      Welcome! You can grind it in a grinder jar to a coarse paste. Add it to the tempering and saute briefly just until hot. Hope this helps

      Reply
  6. Gaurav Wadhwa says

    April 27, 2020

    Thanku so nuch, if came out really good first time only…

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 27, 2020

      Glad to know!

      Reply
  7. Cameron says

    February 6, 2020

    5 stars
    I make this all the time now! Thanks so much for your efforts!

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      February 8, 2020

      Hi Cameron,
      You are welcome!

      Reply
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  9. Sree says

    October 1, 2019

    You recipe are soo good . You are indirectly a member of the family to me who is suggesting me the recipe, thankyou me and my family lovin it ❤

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      October 2, 2019

      Hi Sree,
      You are welcome. So happy that you consider me as a member of your family.It means a lot to me! Thank you so much dear!

      Reply
  10. VASUNDHARA says

    September 21, 2019

    5 stars
    SUPER

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      September 22, 2019

      Thank you

      Reply
  11. Divya says

    June 14, 2019

    Thanks mam very tasty. Ur recipes are very simple and tasty. Am the beginner ur recipes help me to cook better at 1st time itself. Thanks a lot.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      June 23, 2019

      Welcome Divya,
      Thank you so much for following the recipes. Happy to know they are helpful.
      🙂

      Reply
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