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Tomato rice is made with Basmati rice and tomatoes along with a variety of whole spices, onions, ginger-garlic paste, green chilies, and coriander leaves. The process to make tomato rice at home is easy, and you can learn from my simple recipe.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tomato rice is very easy and quick to make at home.
Serve it with fresh cucumber raita, boondi raita, curd, green chutney, tamarind chutney, onion rings, and lemon wedges.
Tomato rice tastes tangy, mildly spicy, and savory.
Other similar rice dishes are lemon rice, tamarind rice, coconut rice, curd rice, mint rice, coriander rice, capsicum rice, and raw mango rice.

The Ingredients:

2 cups Basmati rice (pre-soaked for half an hour)
4 pieces tomatoes (ripe, fresh, cut into smaller pieces)
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 piece bay leaf
1 piece cinnamon (1-inch-size stick)
2 pieces green cardamom
5 pieces cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 pieces onions (medium size, sliced roughly)
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 pieces green chilies (whole)
Coriander—a little bit (fresh, roughly chopped)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
1.5 cup water

I got this rice recipe from a former school classmate I reconnected with one afternoon through Facebook after a long, long time. We were reminiscing about our school days while she was having her lunch. I asked her what she was eating, and she sent me a photo of this tomato rice. It looked so tempting. I asked for the recipe, and she shared it on chat.

I made it that weekend. My husband said it was nostalgic, and the boys said it felt like “mom’s school story food.” Now, we have it on days when I feel like remembering old times. That chat reminded me that food travels across years and screens and always has a way of bringing back warmth.

How to Make Tomato Rice? (Step by Step Guide with Images)

Step 1: Wash 2 cups of basmati rice nicely and soak it in water for about half an hour.

Step 2: In the meantime, heat 2 tbsp of cooking oil and 1 tbsp of ghee (clarified butter) together in a pressure cooker. When it is hot, add a piece of bay leaf, a piece of cinnamon (1-inch-sized stick), 2 pieces of green cardamom, 5 pieces of cloves, and 1 tsp of cumin seeds in it.

(Pro tip: You can cook the dish in a kadai instead of a pressure cooker. In that case, you will have to cook the rice separately before or while you are making the masala).

Step 3: Fry them all for a minute or so on a medium flame until you can smell their natural aroma, but do not burn them. Now, add 2 pieces of onions (medium size, sliced roughly) to it. Stir and fry the onions until they turn translucent and start turning to a nice golden color.

Step 4: At this point, add 1 tsp of ginger-garlic paste. Stir and fry it nicely so that the raw smell of ginger and garlic goes away.

Step 5: Now, add 4 pieces of tomatoes (ripe, fresh, and cut into smaller pieces) to it. Mix them nicely with the onions and other spices and fry nicely on a medium flame until they turn tender and mushy.

Step 6: When it does, add 2 pieces of green chilies and a little bit of fresh coriander leaves (roughly chopped). Mix them nicely and cook for another minute.

Step 7: Now, add 1 tsp of salt, ¼ tsp of turmeric powder, 1 tsp of red chili powder, and ½ tsp of garam masala powder to it.

Step 8: Mix and cook these powdered spices nicely for about a minute. You will see the oil separating from the sides, as shown in the image below.

Step 9: When it does, add the pre-soaked rice.

Step 10: Mix the rice very nicely with the masala.

Step 11: Now, add 1.5 cups of water to it. Finally, give it a nice mix. Then, close the lid of the pressure cooker and let it cook on a low flame for two minutes or up to one whistle, whichever is earlier.

Step 12: Now, remove the lid of the pressure cooker. The water will have soaked nicely, and the rice will have puffed perfectly. Mix it nicely and carefully from the sides, gently and slowly working down.