Do you love Quinoa? If yes, this Instant pot Quinoa tomato rice is going to become one of your favorite recipes. This protein rich, nutty and nutritious grain is a great substitute for rice and they don’t get mushy very fast unlike traditional Indian millets. They are perfect for recipes like these.
Before I go ahead with this quinoa tomato rice recipe, I have to give credits to my friend Sukirti for this awesome recipe. Both of us have a habit of calling each other and asking what the other one is cooking for some inspiration, when we can’t make up our mind. And on one such day, she suggested this South Indian style tomato rice recipe that her mom usually makes and I was intrigued because she used peanuts in it. I wanted to try it immediately and since the husband man grumbled about eating rice a lot, I substituted the rice with quinoa and made it in the instant pot, well because it makes my life easier.
I was really skeptical about how the texture of quinoa would turn out because, I have been testing a lot of one pot quinoa dishes lately and its always been a miss. But this time, it was perfect! Fluffy just like it wanted it and the flavor was awesome.
I love tomato rice when it is made South Indian style. I have very fond memories of eating south Indian style tomato rice in hostels and canteens with my friends. But my mom, usually makes them with garam masala and coconut milk, so it would mostly taste like a pulao than a tomato rice. This recipe took me back to my college days as it is very close to the tomato rice I ate back then. I am going to have to make this with just plain white rice for a perfect trip down the memory lane.
Make this instant pot Quinoa tomato rice spicy if you can handle the heat. I like to use this Organic quinoa
for my cooking. Serve it with some raita and papad or some crispy potato chips. This would make a great lunch box recipe too. Reduce the chillies and it would be great for the little one’s at home too.
Note: Chana dal is used a lot in Indian cooking and it is not to be confused with chickpeas we use for channa masala. This is the Chana Dal
I have used in the recipe.
South Indian style vegan Tomato rice flavored with peanuts, chillies and coriander, cooked in the instant pot.
- 1 cup Quinoa
- 2 big tomatoes pureed (about 1 cup of puree)
- 1/2 medium sized red onion chopped finely
- 1 tsp finely chopped ginger and garlic
- 1/2 tsp red chilly powder / paprika (can avoid since the spice powder contains red chillies)
- salt as needed
- 11/2 tsp coconut oil or oil of your choice
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp chana dal (optional)
- 3 to 4 dried red chillies (substitute with chilly powder)
- 3 tbsp peanuts
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp chana dal (can substitute with urad dal)
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Dry roast the ingredients mentioned for the spice powders and grind it to a some what smooth powder. You could dry roast them in the instant pot or in a pan separately. Set it aside.
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Switch on the saute mode in your instant pot and add oil. When it gets hot, add the items for tempering (mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, chana dal) and let the mustard seeds splutter.
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Now add the ginger - garlic and saute for few seconds. Then add the onions, a pinch of salt and cook them until they turn translucent.
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Now add the tomato puree, chilly powder and cook until the tomato puree has reduced and it looks somewhat like a paste. It took me about 6 minutes. It is important to follow this step properly because, if it hasn't reduced, there will be extra water and you will not have fluffy quinoa.
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Add the Quinoa, 1 cup water, salt and cook on manual high for 4 minutes and release pressure after 6 minutes.
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Open up, add the ground powder and mix well. (You dont have to add the entire powder if its too much. Use as needed)
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Serve your quinoa tomato rice garnished with coriander leaves.
- I made this recipe in my 3qt IP as I was just cooking for 2.
Like this tomato quinoa rice recipe? Rate it by clicking the stars near the comments section. It would mean a lot to me!
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Thank you for this delicious recipe Preethi. The flavours of the quinoa were amazing and I love how healthy, nutritious and versatile this dish is. I had it with a side of tempeh.
Made this the 3rd time today. Really good. I used all of the spice powder. Love the peanuts. Today I had this with the poosanikai mor kootu. Was a good combo!
Peanuts give it a good flavor and crunch don’t they 🙂 This am poosanikai mor kootu is a loevly combination 🙂 Thank you for trying!
Tomato rice with quinoa sounds interesting and looks absolutely delicious.. Bookmarked it. Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe.
Thank you! Hope you like it 🙂
Great idea to use quinoa in lieu of rice! Such a hearty and comforting meal, lovely recipe 🙂
A healthy and delicious quinoa tomato rice, I am sold as this one is one pot and done in IP!
In recently bought my Instapot, have yet to try Quinoa in it..your sadam looks so inviting!!
I’m not sure if I love quinoa but I’m loving this recipe for sure…I love the idea of making it in instant pot..I can’t say more how did instant pot made easier
Giving quinoa a South Indian flavor is a wonderful idea. I am cooking more quinoa than rice and rotis as the weather is too hot and we find them too heavy on the tummy. Now I have another style to make quinoa.
That’s a lovely, healthy meal and quite quick and easy to make too. The tomatoes must add robust flavour to quinoa. Great substitute for rice!
Instant pot Quinoa tomato rice is a healthy variation by substituting it with rice. Moreover it’s instant pot too.
Thanks for sharing.
Great idea to use quinoa instead of rice in this sadam. I love instant pots too and although I was a bit skeptical, now I just reach out to it to make quick and nutritious dishes!
Yes, it makes our life so much more easier 🙂
Substituting rice with quinoa is a very good idea..This is the way we can maintain and take care of our family members’ health …looks good…
Yes, they are so healthy and protein rich 🙂
This instant pot recipe of quinoa in tomato purée looks so lovely, quinoa is our family favourite. But never think of it used it mostly in salads. I love your version and the simplified instructions.
I used to add them in salads only before. But then I recently discovered they make excellent substitutes for rice! So started using them in a lot of rice dishes.
Am trying to keep myself away from getting IP but you guys are tempting me to grab one as my xmas gift. Well done Preethi, very interesting one pot meal with quinoa, even i love to recreate rice dishes with other wholegrains. Looks fabulous.
Are you grinding up Channa dal for thickening? I thought it was lentils. Why only 1 tsp?
Hi Joanne! No, Chana dal is usually added while we temper in Indian cooking to give the dish some crunch. Its like adding peanuts or something crunchy to give it some texture. It is optional though. You could omit it if you like 🙂
Really interested in some of your recipes but avoid anything hot spicy…..Just a little black pepper is all I can tolerate. Love coconut milk and garam masala. I made my own garam m. to avoid anything spicy. Going to try this later with lentils. Have to use what I have on hand..pantry is full. Would love any suggestions for changing a recipe eliminating hot peppers but still retain flavor. This recipe with quinoa looks delicious.
Of course, you could replace the hot peppers with black pepper. We Indians like spicy food, so we add red chillies or green chilly to our dishes. Garam masala would definitely work in this recipe. And you could substitute the water with coconut milk too. I might try doing it next time myself 🙂 Since this is a south Indian style dish, I did not add garam masala in it. But we have other versions where it is used. Hope you like it!