Tomato Rice: One-Pot Tangy Meal From South India

By Niveditha Kalyanaraman

October 14th, 2023

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Tomato rice is a healthy and flavoured rice dish prepared mainly with basmati rice and spiced tomato masala. It is an ideal one-pot meal or lunch box recipe which can also be served for breakfast and dinner. Generally, it is served without any side dish but tastes amazing when served with a choice of raita. Here's the recipe for Tomato Rice.

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Ingredients

8 tomato 10 dried red chilli ¼ cup oil 2 tbsp ghee 1 tsp mustard 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp urad dal 1 tsp chana dal 1 bay leaf 3 pods cardamom 1 inch cinnamon 1 star anise ½ tsp hing 1 inch ginger, grated

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Ingredients

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 chilli, chopped 3 tbsp cashew ½ onion, sliced ½ tsp turmeric 1 tsp coriander powder 2 tsp salt 2 tbsp mint, chopped 2 tbsp coriander, chopped 1 tomato, chopped

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Step 1

In boiling water, add 8 tomatoes and 10 dried red chilli. Boil for 5 minutes, or until the tomato softens and the skin separates. Cool completely, and grind to a smooth puree. Keep aside.

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Step 2

In a large pan, heat oil and ghee. Add mustard, cumin, urad dal, chana dal, bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise and hing. Also add ginger, garlic, chilli and cashews. Saute until the cashews turn golden brown.

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Step 3

Now add onion and saute until the onions soften slightly. Keeping the flame on low, add turmeric, coriander powder and salt. Saute until the spices turn aromatic. Further add mint, coriander and saute well.

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Step 4

Add in prepared tomato puree and cook well. Also add tomato, salt and mix well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the oil separates from the sides. Tomato rice mix is ready, cool completely and store it in a glass jar refrigerated up to a month.

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Step 5

To prepare tomato rice, in a large bowl take 4 cups of boiled rice and add 2 tbsp instant tomato rice paste. Mix well. Finally, enjoy tomato rice with raita and papad.

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