Tomato Rice

Ingredients:

Tomatoes : 250gms
Basmati rice : 1 cup
Coconut milk : 1 cup
Ginger : 2” piece
Garlic : 4 pods
Green chillies : 2 or 3
Cloves : 2
Cinnamon : 1” stick
Bay leaves : 1 or 2
Dhania powder : 1 tbsp.
Chilli powder : 1 or 2 tsp (as per taste)
Turmeric powder : 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Ghee or oil : 2 tbsp.
Cashew nuts : for garnishing.
Curry leaves and coriander leaves for garnishing.

How to make:

1)Blanch the tomatoes by dipping in boiling water and immediately dipping in cold water. Remove the skin and make a puree of the tomatoes.

2)Pepare coconut milk or use ready made coconut milk. Slit the green chillies.

3)Wash and soak the rice for 10 minutes. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and fry the cashew nut to a golden brown color. Remove and keep aside for garnishing.   Into the same ghee, add the whole garam masalas (cloves, cinnamon and cardamom) and bay leaf. When they stop spluttering, add the slit green chillies and saute for a minute.  Add the tomato puree and coconut milk, ginger and garlic paste. As the tomato puree is quite thick it provides only half its measure of water for the rice to cook.  If quantity of coconut milk used is 1 cup and tomato puree is 1 cup, we need to add an additional half cup of water to the rice for cooking. Add the dhania powder, chilli powder (or the sambar powder), turmeric powder and salt. Close the pressure cooker and cook the rice with the weight valve on. When done, garnish with curry leaves, coriander leaves and cahsew nuts.