INGREDIENTS

  • 1 medium sized onion (peeled and chopped coarsely)
  • 2 cups of chicken broth (low sodium)
  • 800 grams of fresh tomatoes (peeled)
  • 1/3rd cup of canola or any other cooking oil
  • 5 garlic cloves finely chopped
  • 2 cups of long grain basmati rice (white rice)
  • ½ teaspoon of freshly ground cumin
  • 1 ½ teaspoon of sea salt or normal salt
  • 2 Jalapeno or serrano peppers (deseeded and minced)
  • Juice extracted from 2 medium sized fresh lemons
  • ¼ cup of fresh cilantro (finely chopped)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Add the tomatoes and the onions in a food processor or a blender and first run it on the pulse mode without any water. After a few pulses, you can shift to the normal running mode or carry out the pulse mode for about 10 to 15 times until the tomato puree gets smooth.
  2. Take a heavy bottom pan and add oil to it. Place it over medium heat and allow it to shimmer. Now add the long grain rice to the oil and stir it regularly so that the oil evenly coats the rice. You need to keep on sitting it for about 5 minutes or until the rice turns golden brown and is a bit toasted.
  3. After this, you need to add the pepper to the rice and cook it until it gets softened. This has to be done in low heat. It will take a couple of minutes for the peppers to get soft. Once done, add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute.

  1. At the same time, while doing the rice, you need to take a medium sized saucepan and boil the chicken broth, tomato puree, cumin, and the salt on medium heat. Once this broth mixture starts to boil and the rice turns into golden brown color.
  2. Pour the hot and boiling mixture of tomato puree and chicken stock water on the boiled rice and stir it so that the rice and the tomato paste mix well. Now, turn the heat to low flame and allow the rice to absorb the liquid. You need to cover and cook the rice for about 12 to 15 minutes. Season with salt if needed and add fresh cilantro while serving.

NOTES

  • The chicken stock can be replaced with vegetable broth or just plain water for those who do not like the taste of chicken in their Mexican rice.
  • The leftover rice can be stored in an airtight container and kept under refrigeration for up to 5 days without getting spoilt.
  • The most important thing is to get the rice to be sautéed in sizzling hot oil to get it roasted and change its color to light brown.