Whole Tomato Rice with Indian flavors (made in Rice Cooker)

Blogging Marathon# 49: Week 2/ Day 3

Theme: Cooking for 1

Dish: Whole Tomato Rice with Indian flavors

Today's recipe is not a recipe at all. This post will make the other two recipes that I posted this week seem to take forever. I saw this 'Whole Tomato rice in Rice cooker' recipe on many blogs. It is exactly what it sounds -- Rice is cooked along with whole tomato in the rice cooker to make this tomato rice. Apparently it is a recent food trend in Japan.

I recently started using my 3cup rice cooker that has been collecting dust for almost a year. For some reason, rice cookers never appealed to me and I resisted buying one for a very long time. This small one was actually supposed to be returned to the store, but we got lazy and it got too late to send it back. I started using it especially when I'm cooking just for the kids.

I was initially skeptical on how this dish would taste. Most of the recipes I saw were only flavored with salt, pepper and oil. But I wanted a slightly spicy Indian flavored tomato rice, so added some red chili powder and garam masala. For the amount of work that went into making this dish, it turned out pretty good; mildly spiced with a nice tomato taste in the background.
The next time I make it, I'll probably add some protein, may be some green peas, cooked chickpeas, cubed tofu or paneer or a fried egg on top. This dish is perfect for those days when you are dog tired and have absolutely no energy to make anything.

Ingredients: Serves 1 very hungry person

Rice - 1cup (use the cup that comes with the rice cooker)
Tomato - 1 medium
Onion - 2tbsp, chopped (optional)
Green Chili - 1~2, very finely chopped
Red Chili powder - ¼tsp (adjust per taste preference) 

Garam Masala - ¼tsp (adjust per taste preference)
Salt - to taste

Optional additions:
Broccoli
Green Peas
Mixed Vegetables
Baked tofu
Fried egg

Method:

• Remove the tomato stem and make a '+' cut on the other end.
• In the rice cooker, combine rice, chopped onion (if using), green chili, red chili powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well. 
• Add water to the rice according to the machine instructions. Place the tomato stem side down ('+' side up) in the center of the rice. Set the rice cooker to 'Cook' and wait till its done.
• Once done, mix the rice with the mushy tomato to evenly distribute it. It's now ready to serve. But if you want any additional mix-ins, par cook them and add them to the rice now. Mix well and Enjoy hot with some chips!!

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 49.