Tomato Rice | Thakkali Sadam (Without garlic) : Left over rice recipes.

One pot meals are life savers for working women or bachelors. We get the required vegetable, starch and the protein in a single dish. It can be made in a jiffy & with minimal fuss too. I prefer making one pot meals once a week. It's a win-win case at my home.

Tomato rice is one of the dishes I make when I have some left over rice from lunch. All it takes is around 20 mins & some spices :)

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

Cooked rice: 4 cups
Tomatoes: 1 cup of finely chopped tomatoes or 2 medium tomatoes
Onion: 1 small or about 1/4th cup
Frozen lima beans: 1/4th cup (refer notes)
Bell peppers: 1/4th cup, finely chopped
Green chillies: 2 nos, chopped
Grated ginger or ginger paste: 1 tsp
Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Pulao masala: 1 tsp (refer notes)
Cooking oil: 1.5 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 4-6 nos, torn
Salt: As needed

For the garnish:
Coriander leaves: 1/4th cup, loosely packed
Lemon juice: 2 tsp, optional

Method:
Spread the cooked rice & keep it aside.
In a broad pan, prepare the tempering. Heat oil. When oil is hot, pop in the mustard & cumin seeds. When seeds turn brown, add in the curry leaves, green chillies & the onions.

Saute the onions for 3-4 mins. The raw smell of the onions should disappear. The onion should become translucent & remain crunchy.
Add in the grated ginger and  tomatoes & cook till the tomatoes are soft.

Thaw the lima beans & throw in the lima beans & bell peppers. Cook on a medium heat for another 2-3 mins.

Throw in the red chilli powder, pulao masala & salt. Mix well & allow the spices to cook for another couple of minutes.
Add the rice & mix thoroughly. Let the rice absorb the spices. Keep cooking for another 3-4 mins.

Turn off the heat. Add the coriander leaves, lemon juice & mix well.

Let the rice sit for another 10 mins for the flavors to develop.
Serve it warm with a chutney/dip/salad or fritters.

Notes:

• Replace lima beans with any other frozen beans like lilva beans, green peas or sweet peas. 
• I use MTR pulao masala, but feel free to use any spice powder you have handy.At times, I have used garam masala, pav bhaji masala and even sambar powder. It tastes great with any spice powder :)
• You could add more veggies if your family prefers. Few options would be steamed beans, carrots or potatoes. 
• I have posted another tomato bath recipe here.