TOMATO RICE WITH BEETROOT, CUCUMBER AND CARROT RAITA
Tomato rice recipe, how to make tomato rice, easy and healthy tomato rice recipe, beetroot raita, cucumber raita, carrot raita, 30 days 30 salad recipes, day 19
Tomato rice – Nothing new or exotic about it, but a one pot meal that helped me survive my hostel days. Armed with a small pressure cooker and a hot plate, this tomato rice was the only meal I could prepare even in coma 🙂 . Simple recipe given by my mom, throw whatever vegetables you are left with, a little garam masala for spice. I slightly modify it by adding few tablespoons of tomato puree for colour, a dash of lemon and I am ready to take on the world! Though this recipe was lying in my drafts since time immemorial, I digged it out for 30 salad series mainly for the way the three raitas– beetroot, carrot and cucumber raitas which accompanied the tomato rice.
All of us make our own variety of raitas, using a variety of ingredients and spices, but for north Kannadigas and Maharashtrians, shenga powder/peanut powder has to make its appearence in whichever possible means in any given dish. I take the liberty of talking on behalf of Maharashtrians, courtesy my grand mother’s genes and under the influence of my aunt’s culinary skills. I personally love the crunch it adds to the dishes. So, on day 19 of my 30 days 30 salad series, I present a main course dish tomato rice along with three colourful raitas.
Recipe for Tomato rice:
Ingredients:
- Refined oil- 4 tablespoons
- Bay leaf- 2 to 3
- Cumin (jeera)- 1 teaspoon
- Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tablespoon
- Onions ( thinly sliced)- 2 big
- Tomatoes(roughly diced)- 3 medium
- Assorted vegetables ( carrot, french beans, potatoes cut into 2 inch long pieces)- 1 .5 cups
- Turmeric- 1 teaspoon
- Garam masala- 1.5 teaspoon
- Sugar- 1 teaspoon
- Chilli powder- 1 teaspoon, you may increase or decrease according to preference
- Tomato puree- 3 to 4 tablespoons
- Salt- according to taste
- Rice ( I used India gate basmati)- 2.5 cups
- Water- 3.5 cups
- Lemon juice- from half lemon
- Coriander chopped for garnishing
Procedure:
- Wash and clean basmati rice and keep aside.
- Heat a pressure cooker, add oil, bay leaves, cumin seeds. fry onions till light brown , then add ginger garlic paste.
- Fry for few minutes and add other vegetables except tomatoes.
- Saute the vegetables for few more minutes in onion -ginger -garlic oil, add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
- Drop in all the spices one by one- turmeric, garam masala, salt, chilli powder and fry for few minutes till the gravy releases oil.
- Mix in tomato puree as well.
- Add basmati rice, mix it well with the vegetables and fry for few minutes.
- Add water,( water should be slightly more than the amount of rice)
- Lastly add lemon juice and close the lid.
- After one whistle, simmer the flame for few minutes and switch off the flame.
- Garnish with chopped coriander before serving.
For Beetroot, carrot and Cucumber raita:
Ingredients:
- Cucumber/Carrot/Beetroot- 1 big
- Salt- to taste
- thick homemade yogurt- 1 cup
- Coarsely crushed garlic- 1 to 2 cloves
- Black pepper powder- 1/2 teaspoon
- Peanuts- coarsely ground- 2 to 3 tablespoons
- Chaat masala- optional
- Mint leaves and coriander leaves for garnishing.
Note: you can replace peanuts with any other nuts of choice, if you dont want to add curd, squeeze in a juice of big lemon. Adjust salt accordingly.
Procedure:
- Grate 1 cucumber, 1 carrot and 1 beetroot separately.
- Whisk one cup curd, add coarsely ground peanuts and garlic, salt, black pepper, chaat masala, chopped mint leaves.
- Divide this curd mixture into three parts to be mixed with each of the grated vegetables.
- Garnish with coriander leaves.
- For cucumber rolls , with a vegetable peeler , peel long slices of cucumber, roll it and fill the raita of choice in those rolls. Secure the rolls with small toothpicks.
- You can also do a mixed vegetable raita by mixing in all the grated vegetables with the curd dressing.
