Tomato Rice
This tomato rice needs takes just 15 minutes to make, and a handful of ingredients. Brown bag it, add it to a veggie bowl, make it a side, or serve on its own with poppadum or raita for a delicious dinner.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 193kcal
Equipment
- Wok or large skillet
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked basmati rice
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon urad dal (black gram lentils)
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida (optional)
- 2 green chili peppers (minced. Outside India you can use any spicy pepper like serrano, jalapeno, arbol. Use only 1 if sensitive to heat, and be sure to deseed the peppers.)
- ¼ cup raw cashews (or cashew pieces. Skip if nut-free and use a tablespoon of urad dal instead)
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 2 pounds tomatoes (finely chopped)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 heaping tbsp sambar powder (or curry powder)
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)
Instructions
- Heat coconut oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add to it the mustard seeds and as soon as they begin to crackle, add the asafetida, if using, urad dal, chili peppers, cashews and curry leaves.
- Saute until the curry leaves begin to get crisp and the urad dal and cashews are lightly golden, about a minute or two. Add the onion and saute for a couple of minutes until translucent.
- Add in the tomatoes along with the turmeric and sambar powder and mix. Cook the tomatoes until they have expressed all their juices but don't wait for the juices to evaporate. You want that goodness to soak into the rice and you also want the tomatoes to retain their sweetness, not turn too tangy, as they would if they cook down further.
- Add the rice to the wok or skillet and mix gently, making sure all rice grains are coated with the tomato juices. Cover the wok and turn heat to the lowest setting. Cook for five minutes, undisturbed, so the rice absorbs the amazing flavors of the spiced tomato juices.
- Turn off the heat and let the rice stand undisturbed for another 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.
Notes
- You can eat the curry leaves, especially if you let them crisp up when you add them to the oil. You can also chop them into smaller pieces so they are easier to eat.
- If you are nut-free, increase the quantity of urad dal to 1 tablespoon and skip the cashews. You can also add a tablespoon of chana dal instead of the cashews. Make sure you saute the chana dal until golden-brown so it softens and becomes crunchy.
- If using cilantro instead of curry leaves add it to the wok or skillet at the same time as you would add the curry leaves.
Nutrition
Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 460mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1296IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg