Tomato Rice – is the easiest and tastiest flavored rice, we can make it in simple steps and with very less ingredients. Lets see the steps to prepare it in a special way so that our kids too will willingly taste it. Tomato rice tastes great with pappad or vada as side dish.
Ingredients
- Parboiled rice – 500 grams
- Oil – 100 grams
- Water – 1 litre
- Bay leaf – 4
- Clove – 3
- Cardamom – 3
- Cinnamon – 2
- Salt – 3/4 tablespoon
- Fennel seeds – 1 tablespoon
- Bengal Gram – 3 tablespoon
- Mustard seeds – 1/4 tablespoon
- Coriander powder – 1/2 tablespoon
- Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tablespoon
- Ginger garlic paste – 1/2 tablespoon
- Turmeric powder – 2 pinch
- Coriander leaves – few
- Curry leaves – few
- Tomato – 5
- Onion – 2
- Red Chilli – 5
- Green chilli – 3
Things to be done before we start cooking
- Rinse and wash 500 grams of ‘parboiled rice’ in water – repeat this step for 3 times to clean the rice – then soak the cleaned rice in water for 30 minutes.
- Peel the skin of 2 medium sized onions – chop them to small pieces – keep them ready in a bowl.
- Take 5 medium sized tomatoes, wash them in water, chop them to medium sized pieces. Keep them ready in a separate bowl.
- Take 100 grams of ginger and 100 grams of garlic – peel the skin – then grind them together to make the required “ginger-garlic” paste.
Steps to Prepare
1 Place a 3-litre vessel on the burner – turn on the flame. Pour in 100 ml of groundnut oil.
2 Then add the below to the vessel –
- Bay leaf – 2 big whole ones (break them into 4 or 6 pieces and then add)
- Fennel seeds – 1 tablespoon
- Mustard seeds – 1/4 tablespoon
- Curry leaves – obtained from 6 or 7 sprigs
Stir a little. Turn the flame to LOW mode now.
3 Add the chopped onions to the vessel and then bengal gram – 3 tablespoons. Stir for some time till onions turn light golden brown.
4 Once onions turn light brown, put in 5 red chillies. Stir a little.
Then add ginger garlic paste – 1/2 tablespoon.
Now, lets add the below –
- Salt – 3/4 tablespoon
- Turmeric powder – 2 pinch
- Coriander powder – 1/2 tablespoon
- Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tablespoon
- Coriander leaves – few (cut the leaves to small pieces)
- Tomatoes – 5 (chopped)
- Green chilli – 3 (sliced in the middle)
Start stirring in low flame for some time (say 30 seconds) then turn flame to high mode and stir occasionally till tomatoes get cooked (say 4 to 5 minutes).
5 Now, pour one litre of water into the vessel with masala and tomatoes. Stir a little.
Close the vessel with a lid. Turn the flame to HIGH mode.
Let us wait till steam comes out from lid’s side.
Turn the flame to low mode once steam oozes out.
6 Then, remove the lid and add the below and stir for 10 seconds –
- Clove – 3
- Cardamom – 3
- Cinnamon – 2
7 Now we need to add the 500 grams of rice soaked in water. Drain all the water and add the rice to the vessel with masala and tomatoes. Stir well and check for salt level by tasting the gravy, if needed we can add extra salt to taste.
8 Close the vessel with a lid – turn the flame to high mode.
Once steam oozes out from the lid’s sides, please turn the flame to LOW mode, let the rice and contents get cooked for another 9 to 10 minutes.
9 After 10 minutes time interval, remove the lid, stir a little.
Again, close the vessel with a lid, let the contents get cooked in LOW flame for another 10 minutes (Dum process happens now).
After 10 minutes, remove the lid, we can find fully cooked rice and no water left at the bottom of vessel.
Turn off the flame. Sprinkle a little of coriander leaves on the upper surface.
Thus our street style tomato rice is ready to served and tasted.
