Tomato Pulao

Yum! My mom is one of the best cooks ever!! Her tomato rice is my favorite. I have made an upgraded version to marry the tomato rice with a biryani. Biryani is pretty labor intensive and also takes a lot of time to cook (about 3 hours). I have stolen aspects from both dishes to make a tomato pulao that does not take long to cook and still has all the flavors of a biryani. Paired with raita this is an awesome dish that can be enjoyed over many meals.

This recipe will feed upto 5 people so halve the quantities if making it for 2-3 people.

Ingredients

1. Bay leaf - 1
2. Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1 tsp
3. Cardamom - 3
4. Cloves - 6
5. Cinnamon - 1 big stick
6. Onions - 1 big (finely chopped)
7. Ginger - 1 inch  (finely chopped) 
8. Garlic - 6 pods  (finely chopped)
9. Tomatoes - 6   (finely chopped)
10. Ghee - 2 tbsps
11. Turmeric powder - 1tsp
12. Red chilli powder - 2 tsps (you might want to tone down the spice)
13. Coriander (dhanya) powder - 1 tsp
14. Shaan Bombay Biriyani masala - 1 tbsp
15. Green chillies - 2-3 (slit lengthwise)
16. Mint leaves - about 20 leaves
17. Coriander leaves - about 1/3 of a bunch
18. Basmati rice - 2 cups 
19. A pinch of saffron in 2-3 tbsps of milk
20. Salt - per your taste
21. Olive oil - 2 tbsps
22. Water - 4 cups

Procedure:

1. Soak rice in water for about 45 minutes.
2. In oil in a pan (kadai), lightly saute the cinnamon, cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves and bay leaf.
3. Add in the onions and saute till the onions are fully cooked (become translucent).
4. Add in the ginger and garlic and saute for a minute. 
5. Add a tbsp of ghee before adding the turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder and biryani masala.
6. Let the onion-masala mixture cook for about a 1 minute on lower heat before adding in the tomatoes and green chillies.
7. Add in the chopped cilantro and mint leaves.
8. Close the lid and let the mixture cook for a bit till the tomatoes get pastey.
9. Put onion-tomato mixture and 1 tsp of ghee in a rice cooker with basmati rice (water is 1 cup rice: 2 cups of water) and add in the saffron milk to it and let it cook!!