Thakkali Saadam/ Tomato Rice

          My daughter is not a big rice eater, anytime, she prefers rotis, idlis or dosas to it, the only exception being a couple of mixed rice varieties, like the lemon, tomato and tamarind and of course thayir saadam. Tomato rice is an all time favorite as far as my family is concerned. There are a couple of versions of it, I follow my mother's, no masala items, the green chillies give an unique flavor to it, a simple but extremely delicious one..

Need To Have

• Rice - 2 cups
• Tomatoes - 13 medium
• Green Chillies - 10 chopped
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Chana Dal/ Bengal Gram - 2 tablespoons
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 20
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Chop the tomatoes finely. Cook the 2 cups rice and cool it. Heat some oil, add the chana dal and the mustard seeds, once it starts spluttering, add the asafoetida, green chillies and curry leaves.

          Mix for a few seconds, then add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder and salt. Keep cooking till the tomatoes become mushy and all the moisture dries up and oil starts leaving on the sides. This takes anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes, depending upon the quantity, the pan used and the amount of heat. Cool the mixture and mix it with the cooled rice. Serve it at room temperature.

Note
Use ripe, juicy tomatoes.
When I was in the US, I used to add a couple of tablespoons of canned crushed tomatoes, if the tomatoes were not sour enough.
Also once the moisture dries up, do the last part of the cooking on low heat, then only the tomatoes will start leaving oil, otherwise it will start sticking to the pan.
Mix in the masala, a little at a time to the rice, taste and add more.
I recommend raw rice or parboiled rice ( at Indian stores), or long grain jasmine rice, not basmati rice, the flavor from the basmati rice spoils the dish.