Tomato rice recipe (Stovetop & Instant pot)

Tomato rice is a simple, spicy, flavorful & delicious one pot dish made with rice, tomatoes, spices & herbs. This tomato rice can be made in a pressure cooker or a pot. If you are looking to use up left over or precooked white rice, then you can make tomato rice just under 20 mins following this Thakkali sadam recipe.

Tomato rice can be served with out any sides as it is very flavorful & tasty on its own. However some vegetable salad, curd, raita or papad will complement your meal. To make it kids’ friendly, you can puree the tomatoes and use.

If you are new to Indian cuisine, read on to know

What is tomato rice?

Tomato rice is a simple south Indian rice dish made with lots of tomatoes & spices. It is not a traditional dish so each home or region has their own way of making it.

As the name indicates this tomato rice is made using tomatoes alone and no vegetables are used except onion. But you can use any veggies like peas, potatoes etc and even soya chunks or boiled egg goes well.

Methods to make

This south Indian tomato rice can be made in a pressure cooker, in a regular pot or in instant pot. I have shared all the methods here.

I have shown making tomato rice in pressure cooker in the step by step method. In the video I have shown making it in a pot. I have also included instructions for instant pot method in the recipe card.

How to make tomato rice (stepwise photos)

1. Wash 1½ cups rice very well a few times until the water runs clear. Soak the rice if you wish until the preparation is done. Later drain the rice completely and set aside.

2. Wash and slice 1 medium onion thinly or chop them. Also slit 1 green chili (optional). Rinse & chop or puree 2 to 3 medium tomatoes. I use about 1 cup chopped tomatoes (200 grams). You can also deseed them before chopping.

3. Grate or crush half inch ginger & 2 garlic cloves to make 1 tablespoon paste. Set aside. Optional– Split 12 cashew nuts and set aside.

4. Add 2 tablespoons ghee or oil to a hot pressure cooker or a pot. Add cashews and fry them until golden and crisp. Remove to a plate. Regulate the flame to low. Add 1 inch cinnamon, 3 cloves, 1 bay leaf, 3 cardamoms and ¾ teaspoon cumin. If you do not have bay leaf you can use curry leaves. If you do not have all of these whole spices, just skip them.

5. Add 1 medium chopped or sliced onions and green chilies. Begin to saute them. Skip green chilli if you have kids home.

6. When the onions turn golden, saute 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste just for few seconds.

7. Add 1 cup chopped tomatoes, ¼ teaspoon turmeric and ½ teaspoon salt. Saute for 2 to 3 mins.

8. Next cover and cook until the tomatoes turn mushy. Add ½ to 1 teaspoon red chili powder and ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala. I used this garam masala along with half tsp of fennel powder. If you have kids home cut down the chilli powder to half teaspoon.

9. Saute until the tomato masala turns soft and mushy. There should be no raw smell of tomatoes by now and the masala leaves the sides of the pan.

10. Pour 2½ cups water if making in pressure cooker and Stir it well. Check and add more salt if needed. Bring it to a rolling boil. If cooking in a pot pour 3 cups.

11. Add drained rice.

12. Mix well. Cover with a lid. Cook on a medium heat & allow to whistle once. If cooking in a pot, cook on a low heat until all the water is absorbed & the rice is done.

13. When the pressure releases naturally, open the lid and fluff up the tomato rice. If you like the rice to be al dente, do not allow the pressure to come down on its own. When the cooker is still with pressure, release it by lifting the whistle with a wooden spatula. Allow to rest for 5 mins.

Fluff up the tomato rice with a fork. When the temperature comes down a bit, can squeeze in some lemon juice and add coriander leaves. Garnish with fried cashew nuts.

Serve tomato rice with onion slices or veg salad or raita.

For more Rice recipes, you can check
Corn pulao
Puliyogare
Kerala ghee rice
Curd rice

Pro Tips

Rice: Rinse rice well a few times to get rid of the starch. Soak it well for at least 30 mins. These 2 steps will prevent the tomato rice from turning mushy & sticky. You can use any kind of rice you have in hand.

South Indian tomato rice is actually made with short grain rice but I have used basmati.

Water: Rice to water ratio is very important to cook up the rice to fluffy & nonsticky. Here are the ratios for basmati rice.

For 1½ cups basmati rice
2 ½ cups water for pressure cooker
3 cups for regular pot
2 cups for instant pot

Spices: I have used some whole spices like bay leaf, cinnamon, cumin, jeera and cardamoms. You can just skip what ever you do not have.

For more Tomato recipes, you may like to check
Karnataka tomato bath
Tomato upma
Simple tomato biryani
Tomato curry
Spicy tomato chutney

Tomato rice with precooked rice

If you prefer to use up precooked rice, here are the brief instructions. For detailed steps do check this thakkali sadam recipe

Follow the steps from 2 to 9 in the recipe card. Set aside some of this masala. Then just add cooled cooked rice to it. Mix well and if needed add more masala.

Faqs

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