Tomato Rice Recipe

Ingredients

For Soaking Rice

• 1 heaped cup basmati rice or any regular rice
• water as required

More Ingredients

• 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes (tightly packed) or 3 medium to large tomatoes or 200 grams
• ⅓ cup finely chopped onions or 1 medium-sized onion
• 1.5 teaspoons Ginger Garlic Paste or 1 inch ginger + 5 to 6 small to medium garlic crushed in mortar-pestle
• ½ teaspoon chopped green chilli or serrano pepper or 1 green chilli
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• 4 to 5 fenugreek seeds (methi seeds) – optional
• ½ inch true cinnamon
• 2 green cardamoms
• 2 to 3 cloves
• 6 to 7 curry leaves (medium-sized)
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon black pepper powder or crushed black pepper
• ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder (ground cumin)
• ½ tablespoon chopped mint leaves
• ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
• 1.5 to 1.75 cups water or add as required
• 2 tablespoons oil – any neutral oil
• salt as required

Instructions 

Preparation

1. Rinse basmati rice or any regular rice for a couple of times in water.
2. Then soak the rice in water for 20 to 30 minutes. Later drain the rice and keep aside.
3. Chop the tomatoes, onions and green chillies finely. Peel and crush the ginger-garlic in a mortar pestle. Also, chop the mint and coriander leaves
4. Keep aside all the spices required for the rice.

Sautéing Onions, Tomatoes, Spices

1. In a 3 litre pressure cooker, heat the oil. Keep the flame to a low and add mustard seeds and crackle them. Then add fenugreek seeds and just lightly fry for a couple of seconds without burning them.
2. Then add finely chopped onions and cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves.
3. Stir and sauté until the onions turn translucent and soften.
4. Add the ginger-garlic paste, chopped green chilies and curry leaves.
5. Stir and sauté for some seconds until the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away
6. Now add chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves.
7. Stir and saute for a minute.
8. Keep heat to a low or switch off the heat. Add the finely chopped tomatoes and turmeric powder, red chilli powder, black pepper powder or crushed black pepper, coriander powder and cumin powder.
9. Mix very well and sauté the tomatoes until they soften and become pulpy with oil releasing from the sides.

Cooking Tomato Rice

1. Add the soaked rice. Gently mix the rice with the tomato mixture very well. Sauté for a minute.
2. Add 1.75 cups water. For a more softer consistency in the rice, you can also add 2 cups water.
3. Season with salt as per taste.
4. Cover and pressure cook tomato rice for 2 whistles on medium flame or about 10 to 11 minutes. To get a softer rice, you can also pressure cook for 3 whistles.
5. When the pressure settles down on its own. Then remove the lid and gently fluff the tomato rice.
6. Serve tomato rice with appalams or chips or with a side raita.