Tomato Rice

Ingredientsfor 4 servings

• 4 – ripe Tomatoes
• 2 cup Short/long grained Basmati rice
• 1 Ginger knob
• 5 - medium Sized Garlic pods
• 1 – Green chillies
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 2 tsp Kashmiri chilly powder
• 2 – Coriander powder
• 1 tsp Eastern biriyani masala powder
• ½ tsp Garam masala powder — optional
• Salt, to taste
• ¼ cup Ghee
• 2 Cinnamon pieces
• 3 – Cloves
• 2 Cardamoms
• 1 Anise
• 1 tsp Peppercorns
• ½ tsp Fennel seeds
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1 – Bay leaves

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Soak rice in water for atleast 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Step 2

   Chop/slice the tomatoes into fine pieces.

3. Step 3

   Grind the ginger, whole (unpeeled) garlic pods and green chilies in a blender.

4. Step 4

   Heat ghee in a pressure cooker.

5. Step 5

   Add the whole spices and stir until the whole things starts allow to crackleing.

6. Step 6

   Add the ginger-garlic-chillies paste and sautT until the raw smell leaves.

7. Step 7

   Add the tomatoes and sautT well until the whole mixture gets blends well.

8. Step 8

   Add all the powders and sautT further until the raw smell leaves.

9. Step 9

   Add the rice. Stir everything together thoroughly and continue to stir for sometime.

10. Step 10

    Add 4 cups of water and Stir everything together thoroughly.

11. Step 11

    Add salt and mix again.

12. Step 12

    Pressure cook up to 2 whistles on high heat.

13. Step 13

    When done, garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

14. Step 14

    Serve warm with Onion-Cucumber-Green chillies salad, pickle and a must pappadums.

15. Step 15

    Pointers to be considered:-.

16. Step 16

    Since the cooking time changes with each kind of rice used, you can change the quantity of water accdg to its quality and texture. Though the usual ratio followed is 1 measure of rice : 2 measures of water, using 2 cups of water may result in over cooking for some varieties of rice. So, be careful on the same and use only 1+ cups of water in such cases. And anyways, you¦ll get this rite only after a couple of trial and errors. Kindly bear! :).

17. Step 17

    2) Pls make sure you switch off the stove immediately after the 2 whistles (to avoid making it get burnt).

18. Step 18

    3) Add more chilly powder and reduce the quantity of green chillies to render that vivacious reddish hue to the dish.

19. Step 19

    4) Adding biriyani masala powder or any other branded pulav masala adds that extra punch or zing to the whole thing.

20. Step 20

    5) Add lots of finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing to bequeath that killing aroma on the dining table.

21. Step 21

    6) You can also even throw in veggies of your choice, say for instance, carrots, green peas, potatoes, cauliflower etc and make it all the more nutritious and colourful. Would make it definitely appealing to the kidsa. ;-p.

22. Step 22

    7) You can also move around with the quantity of the whole spices and the masala powders accdg to your tastes and preferences.

23. Step 23

    8) You can also reduce or increase the quantity of ghee accdgly.

24. Step 24

    So, thankfully, gone are those days when I used to scuttle to the nearby eatery to satisfy my cravings for such spicy delicacies. But homemade food r really special as it thoroughly infuses in it that special feeling and tenderly affection called Love (along with loads of effortsa;-)). And honestly, µam really happy n satisfied with the fact that I too can make a decent (being modest again as usual) tomato rice to satisfy my little one¦s palettes too (has become his favourite now). :-).

25. Step 25

    Moral of the story, sorryablog: v Try n try n try until you succeed. Never give up until you do so coz in this world, nothing comes easy. But remember, always do try the right way. Coz being right is always righta. ;-p.

26. Step 26

    So, on that sanguine note, happy cooking!