Are tomatoes poisonous??
Yes….in 1500 most Europeans considered tomatoes to be poisonous.
The rich of 1500 AD used to eat from flatware’s made of pewter, a metal with high-lead content. Foods like tomatoes which are acidic when placed on pewter, would react with lead. The lead from the plates would leech out into the food thus resulting in lead poisoning and death. Poor people, who used wooden crockery were found to be safe from lead poisoning. Thus, tomatoes became the food of the poor until the 1800s, especially the Italians.
Weight watchers delight these shiny fruits/vegetables are a “must-have” in the diets of diabetics. It has a low GI and does not trigger insulin resistance. Brimming with fiber it supports the balance of blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides. This red miracle is loaded with the antioxidant lycopene which is a potent antioxidant thus protecting against cancer.
Here is a delicious Tomato rice in south Indian style paired with creamy curd rice, fried appalam (papad), and moremilagai (curd chilly). A classic meal combination that is quick to prepare and makes a good lunch box meal too.
Tomato Rice/Thakkali Saadham (Version 2.0) Recipe:
Ingredients for Tomato Rice version 2.0:
- Raw rice 1 cup
- Tomatoes 10 finely chopped
- Onions 1 big finely chopped
- Green chilly 4 finely chopped
- Curry leaves few
- Coriander leaves chopped 2 tbsp
- Tamarind paste 1 tsp
- Coconut milk thick ¼ cup
- Red chilly 3 broken
- Red chilly powder 1/ 2 tsp
- Turmeric powder 1 tsp
- Asafoetida ½ tsp
- Oil (sesame preferable) 2 tbsp
- Mustard seeds 1 tsp
- Bengal gram dal/channa dal 1 tsp
- Black gram dal
- Salt to taste
Preparation Method:
- Wash the rice in safe water.
- Measure 5 times the quantity of water. Bring the water to a boil.
- Add the washed rice and cook till done. The rice should be cooked but retain its stiffness.
- Drain the water and spread the rice on a plate. Drizzle some oil and allow it to cool.
- Take a heavy-bottomed pan. Add oil and all tempering -mustard, red chilly, asafoetida, -when
the dals are golden brown add the green chilly, curry leaves followed by onions. - Sauté the onions till pink. Add the tomatoes and sauté on low flame. Add chilly powder turmeric and required salt.
- Add the tamarind paste, and coconut milk and simmer the mixture till oil floats on top.
- Gently mix in the cooked rice and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.
Link: For Curd Rice Recipe
Tomato Rice 2.0 with Curd Rice is Ready 🙂
