Tomato rice

Serves four Ingredients:

800g leftover basmati rice (about 200g of cooked rice per person)

1 tbsp sunflower oil or rapeseed oil ½ tsp mustard seeds 1 level tbsp of chana daal (split chickpeas) some curry leaves 4-5 dried red chillies a pinch of asafoetida 3-4 cloves garlic, minced 1 inch piece of ginger, grated a handful of coarsely crushed peanuts (optional)

2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 tomatoes (it’s approximately one tomato per serving) 1 tbsp tomato purée 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp chilli powder salt to taste

Method:

Heat the sunflower oil in a wok which has a lid, add the mustard seeds, dried chillies, curry leaves, chana daal and the crushed peanuts. Stir and let the spices brown a little. Once the mustard seeds have popped, add the asafoetida and add the finely chopped onions. Stir the mixture and let the onions turn a golden brown on a low heat.

In a blender, add the fresh tomatoes and blitz until you get a smooth pulp. You can keep the tomato skin on or just peel them if you prefer beforehand. Add this tomato pulp along with the tomato purée into the spice and onion mixture along with the fresh ginger and garlic.

Turn the heat to its lowest setting and cover the wok with a lid. Let the tomatoes and onion spice mixture cook and amalgamate together. Stir occasionally to make sure the mixture is not sticking to the pan. Once you get a shiny thick sauce you can add the cooked rice and stir gently until each grain is coated with the delicious mixture.

Add the salt, garam masala and chilli powder, tasting as you go along to ensure you’ve a good balance of flavours. Serve hot.