Tomato Rice - Simple and Satisfying

Tomato Rice - Simple and Satisfying One Pot Meal

Tomato rice is a quick and simple rice meal. This recipe is an inspiration of my friend G's tomato rice. I had a chance to taste her tomato rice once. when i asked her, the recipe sounded simple and still tasted very good.
the recipe did not have many spices yet it had a fantastic mild flavour of one particular spice - which i tasted for first time. and that spice is nothing but - Kalpaasi in Tamil and black stone flower (it is a lichen) in English (botanically called Parmotrema perlatum).

I made few alterations to her recipe to my suit my taste.

It is a one pot dish. I use pressure cooker. you can use any thick bottom utensil too to make this rice.

no special side dishes are required. A simple potato chips is good enough to complete this meal. Another suggestion would be that this tomato rice and paruppu thogayal / dhal chutney is an awesome combo. My hubby came out with this combo as he had this combo in his college hostel-canteen during his college days.

I won't say.. I choose to make this rice on a lazy day or on a hungry day. You will know when you want to make this.. yes you will have a craving somewhere inside your middle brain.. asking for a mildly spicy, slightly tangy, hot variety-rice with the BGM of Kalpaasi flavour. You know.. when you have such a particular craving.. you are really happy to make it. 

I remember making this hot tomato rice during the 2015 floods (Nada cyclone) of Chennai. It was windy and raining outside.. when there was no power, no network, no vegetables at home other than the basic tomato, onion and green chillies. It hardly took 45 minutes to make. Can't wait to turn off the stove under cooker. When it was done, bought the cooker down to the floor. We all sat down in the kitchen itself, around the cooker.. opened it.. hot steam with awesome smell from the tomato rice blew on our face.. increases our appetite on an cold and wet rainy day. Since no power, we used the Palmyra-leaf fan to cool the rice. We heard the wind gusting through the branches of the tree near my kitchen window as we enjoyed the hot and flavourful tomato rice.

Okay.. let me show you the recipe of this simple tomato rice.

Ingredients:

• Raw rice / sona masoori rice - 1 cup
• Tomato - 2 large and ripe
• onion - 1 medium
• green chillies - 3 
• chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
• coriander powder - 1 teaspoon
• turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• ginger - 1 inch piece - finely chopped
• bay leaf - 2
• cinnamon - 1 inch piece - 2 nos
• black stone flower - 3 medium size flowers
• oil as required
• salt as required
• water - 2 cups

Procedure:

• Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes.
• cut the tomato, onion, chilli and ginger. keep ready.
• heat oil in a small pressure cooker, add the cinnamon, bay leaves and kalpaasi. 
• after few seconds, add the green chillies.
• followed by ginger, onion and tomato. let this saute for some time.
• add salt to quicken the sauteing. 
• saute till the oil separates. 
• add the water.
• let it come to boil. check for salt.
• let the water boil for 3 minutes.
• then add the soaked rice. give it a good stir. cover it and cook it like any other rice for 10 minutes.

The tasty tomato rice is ready to be relished with chips or raitha or simply with any pickle.

Happy cooking !!