Recipe
- 1 litre (4 cups) uncooked long-grain rice (not basmati)
- 1,25 – 1,5 litres (5 – 6 cups) vegetable, chicken or beef stock, divided in half
- 6 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped, OR 1 x 410 g canned tomatoes
- 4 large red peppers, seeds discarded and chopped
- 3 red onions, 1 sliced thinly and 2 roughly chopped
- 90 ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil
- 15 ml (3 tbsp.) tomato paste
- 10 ml (2 tsp.) curry powder
- 5 ml (1 tsp.) dried thyme
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 10 ml (2 tsp.) unsalted butter
- Salt, to taste
- 2 large ripe avocados, peeled, stoned and diced, to serve
- 30 ml (2 tbsp.) chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Description
- Rinse the rice to rid of some starch then parboil by bringing the rice to a boil with 500 ml (2 cups) of the stock. Cook on medium heat, covered, for about 12 – 15 minutes, the rice will still be hard, not translucent and only partly cooked. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a blender, combine tomatoes, red peppers and chopped onions. Whizz until smooth, about a minute or two. You should have roughly 1 litre (4 cups) of blended mix.
- In a large pan, heat oil and add the sliced onion. Season with salt, stir-fry for a minute or two, then add the tomato paste, curry powder, dried thyme and bay leaves. Stir for another 2 minutes. Add the blended tomato-pepper, stir, and set on medium heat for 10 – 12 minutes so the mix cooks and the raw taste of the tomatoes is gone.
- Add 500 ml (2 cups) stock to the cooked tomato sauce, stir in the butter and when melted add the parboiled rice. Stir and cover with a double piece of foil, baking or parchment paper and put a lid on the pan. This will seal in the steam and lock in the flavour. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes. Stir again, check seasoning, then add the remaining 250ml (1 cup) of stock. Stir, cover again and cook for another 15 -20 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to prevent burning, until the rice is cooked, and the grains are separate. If the rice is still a bit hard, add some more stock or water, 125 ml (1/2 cup) at a time, stirring gently.
- When it’s cooked, take off the heat and remove the cover of the pot. Put a tea cloth over the top and leave for half an hour or more, until ready to serve.
- Just before serving top with sliced avocado and sprinkle with chopped parsley.