Sourashtra Thakkali Pongal / Tomato Rice

My parents typically serve food to the less privileged to honor their parents (usually on their respective birthdays) and we were fortunate to be in India last year when this was happening. Typically my mom cooks a big south indian feast in huge quantities and the people are served at home on banana leaves. However, with covid restrictions they moved to a more packed version so it was easier to deliver the food instead... In order to make it easier for my mom, we ordered food from a Sourashtra catering group and boy it was fabulous!  We ordered puliyodharai (came with a tangy mixed vegetable curry), thakkali sadham (that came with a salna and onion thayir pachadi) and my mom made some delicious chakkara (sweet) pongal to go with it. 

My son was so enthused about packing and marking all the boxes and putting them in the bags and handing over to those who came home or going with my brother to deliver to those who were unable to come over. Once all the distribution was done and we sat down to have lunch - my son was blown away with how good everything tasted and he said (and I quote) that it was "bliss". He really enjoyed every dish and savored every bit of it. 

Enjoying his blissful meal

Once home, I searched up recipes for this tasty sourashtra tomato rice/thakkali pongal and this video looked very promising. We tried and loved this recipe and it was a hit with the entire family. I know I have already posted Tomato rice recipe earlier but this a different flavor for sure and one to try without fail. The color of my verison is a lot more redder than the original becauseIi used some crushed tomatoes but typically it is much lighter when using only fresh tomatoes (which is how i made it the first time but missed getting pictures)

I used jeeraga samba rice so I have given water measurements accordingly - please feel free to adjust based on the type of rice you are using. 

Saurashtra Thakkali Pongal 

Ingredients:

Jeeraga Samba Rice - 1.5 cups, washed and drained
Water - 1.75 cups (1:1 ration for the rice i was using -  adjust based on rice  you are using).
Roma Tomatoes - 4, chopped into medium sized pcs 
Chilli powder - 1 to 2 tsp (adjust based on spice levels)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Onions - 1.5 medium, sliced thinly
Green chillies - 4, slit
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece, minced
Garlic - 4-6 cloves, minced
Mint Leaves - 3-4 tbsp, minced
Oil - 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp ghee (yes, this needs more oil than usual) 
Salt to taste

Masala Seasoning:

Fennel Seeds/Sombu - 1 tsp
Cardamom - 2
Bay Leaf - 1 
Cloves - 3
Star Anise - 1 pc
Kalpasi /Stone flower - 1 pc
Cinnamon - 1.5 inch piece

Method: 

1) I used an instant pot to make things easier. So, heat up the instant pot on saute mode. 

2) Heat oil and ghee, add in the ingredients under masala seasoning and let them sizzle and impart their flavor to the oil. 

3) Next add the onions and green chillies and fry well with frequent stirring. Once the onions have browned, add the ginger, garlic and saute for a few more mins before adding the chopped mint leaves.

4) Next add the tomatoes and the masala powders (turmeric, chilli, salt) and continue to stir until the tomatoes soften a bit. Add the water at this point and the washed/drained rice. 

5) Jeeraga samba doesn't take very long to cook. So, I covered the instant pot, sealed it and set it to manual/pressure cook mode for 4-5 mins. After which I switched it off and allowed it release naturally. 

Stir gently and serve with some onion raita and some vadaam if desired and enjoy!