Tomato rice is one of my favorite variety rice recipes. I use to prepare it in different ways sometimes as an one pot meal in pressure cooker , when am in hurry and sometimes, I cook rice and masala separately and mix them both as we usually do for other types of variety rice (which I have mentioned here in this recipe). But the pressure cooker method is the one I love most. My kiddo Amii loves tomato rice more and even has named it as “ Tomato Biryani”, because of the flavor of spices infused in it.
For the past two days, am trying out some recipes and trying to take pics. But the climate is not favorable to me, and the sky remains cloudy 
, until I finish off the dish. Am setting everything for photo click and waiting near my window for the sunlight. But, all my work went in vain and the sun is refusing to pose for a bright smile 
for the past two days and being shy all over the day. Once I pack up with all the settings I made for my photo click, and get ready to pick up my son from his school, the sky is becoming bright and more brighter 
. A cold war between me and the natural light! Everyone seeing the picture knows that am the loser ( LOL!)
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Ingredients:
To cook rice:
| Raw Rice | 2 cups |
| Water | as required |
| Salt | 2 tsp |
| Cooking Oil | 1 tsp |
| Tomatoes | 8 to 10 medium sized ( finely chopped) |
| Onion | 1 Large ( finely chopped) |
| Green Chilly | 6 (slit lengthwise) |
| Garlic Pods | 12 (finely chopped) |
| Garam Masala | 3/4 tsp |
| Mint Leaves | handful |
| Cooking Oil | 1/3 cup |
| Salt | 1 tsp |
Cooking Instructions:
Wash and clean the rice until the water runs clear. If you are using Basmathi rice, soak it for 15 minutes. Add rice and fill the cooking pot with water a little below the neck of the pot. Add salt and cooking oil (adding oil will avoid sticking of rice with one another) to it. Bring it to boil in high flame and when it starts to bubbles up, reduce the flame to medium and cook until the rice is 80% done. Switch off the flame and drain the excess water using a strainer and let the rice to cool down in a large plate.
Heat oil in a pan and when it is hot, add garlic and fry until it slightly changes in color. Add green chilly and onion and fry until the onion is transparent. Add tomatoes (instead of finely chopping, you can even grind the tomatoes coarsely but not smooth) to it and keep frying. Add salt to it which will help the tomatoes to cook fast. Keep stirring the mix in regular intervals until the tomatoes become mushy.
Now add garam masala and mint leaves to it and keep stirring until the oil in the dish will start leaving out of it. At one time, the dish will reduce to 3/4 of its size and now simmer the flame and it helps the dish to leave the oil outside. When you see the oil oozing out of the dish, switch off the flame and let the mixture cool. The final will look like the one below in the last picture.
Once the gravy and the rice becomes cool, mix both of them evenly and smoothly without breaking the rice. (Add the gravy little by little, accordingly, and if the taste is good and ok, stop adding it to the rice. You can reserve the remaining in the refrigerator, for future use and it stays good for a week too). Check for salt and add, if required. You can prepare the gravy part in the before night itself, and the next day, you have to just cook the rice and mix the gravy. Job will be done easily. Yummy Tangy Toamto Rice is ready! Serve it with Onion Raitha and pack for the lunch!
Comments
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner
Deepa