Tomato Rice

Mom in law made some great paranthas this morning. Obviously we were left with very little space in our tummies in the afternoon. Yet, there was at least some space for a little something. Mom-in-law recommended khichdi. But I was bored of making the same type of khichdi time and again (although, my mom-in-law loves the khichdi I make!)

So out came my Anjum Anand's New Indian again. I scoured it for some rice based recipe and found this  recipe. It sounded quite nice, and easy too. I took me all of 20 minutes to make this awesome recipe. It tastes slightly sour, with undertones of clove, and cinnamon. What hits you more is the taste of the black cardamom and the fennel. I did add some sugar to it. You may skip it if you wish.

I used the Basmati Dubar rice. But you can use any white rice in this recipe. My biggest compliment was Saee finishing the entire bowl of rice given to her, and then eating seconds from everybody's plates. She did make it a point to come to me and tell me "Mummy, I liked the tomato rice!

I guess that is my strongest testimonial then.

Ingredients

• 200 g white rice (washed and soaked for 15 minutes)
• 3 large tomatoes, chopped into fine pieces
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 pods of garlic chopped
• 4 green chillies slit lengthwise
• 4 cloves (laung)
• 1 inch piece of cinnamon (dalchini)
• 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fennel (saunf) powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 3/4th tsp garam masala
• 3 tbsp oil
• salt to taste

 Heat oil in a wok. Throw in the cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. Add the mustard seeds. Once they start crackling, add the onions. (Tip: Adding a pinch of salt while frying onions helps them the brown faster and more evenly.)

After a minute the onions change color to golden brown, add the chopped garlic and green chillies. Saute for a  minute or two till the garlic turns golden brown. Now add the turmeric, fennel powder and the garam masala and salt and saute for 20 seconds.

Add the tomatoes at this stage and turn up the heat. Cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes till the tomatoes have turned tender. Remove the lid and add the drained rice. Saute again for 2 minutes and then add about 430 ml of water (I added only a rough estimation).

Bring the rice to a boil. Now lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot with a tight lid. I did not have a pot with a tight lid, and I didn't want to use a pressure cooker. So I covered the pot with a plate and placed a mortar on top of it. You can use the same method too.

Cook on a low heat for about 8 minutes. Open the lid, toss the rice an bit, and let the excess moisture evaporate.

Serve hot.

Happy Cooking!