Mexican Tomato Rice with Beans...victory!!

Mexican Tomato Rice with Beans...Just another ploy to get hubz to eat Rajmah/Red Kidney beans…did I succeed? Yes!!

Mexican Tomato Rice with Beans

Ingredients:

• Basmati Rice, 1 cup
• Rajmah/Red Kidney beans or Black beans, boiled/canned, 1 ¼ cup (I use Red Kidney beans)
• Onion, finely chopped, 1 cup
• Tomato, finely chopped, 1 cup
• Tomato Puree, about 2 tbsp
• Sweet Corn,  ½ cup (optional, I use to add colour)
• Green chili, finely chopped, 1-2 (remove the seeds if you want)
• Garlic, finely chopped, 3-4
• Oregano, 1 tbsp
• Cumin powder, 2 tsp
• Paprika, 1 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Water or Stock of your choice, 2 cups 
• Olive oil, 2 tbsp
• Coriander, for garnishing
• Lime juice (optional)

Instructions:

Wash rice till water runs clear and soak in water for about half an hour.  Drain the water completely and keep aside.

Heat oil in a saucepan, over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, green chili and sauté till onions go soft. 

Add tomatoes and tomato puree and let it cook for another 4-5 minutes or till the water released from tomatoes has dried out. 

Add the drained rice and mix well (so that the rice gets coated nicely) but lightly (so that the grains don’t break).

Add, salt, oregano, cumin powder and paprika. Mix well.

Add the kidney beans, sweet corn and stock. 

Let it come to a boil, reduce the heat to lowest and cover with a lid till rice is cooked (and water has dried out – about 15-20 minutes)

Remove from heat, remove the lid and cover the pan with a kitchen towel. Put the lid back on top of the cloth. 

Let it stand for 5-10 minutes. 

Fluff with a fork and serve with some lime juice and chopped coriander sprinkled over.

Notes:

• You can add tomatoes either right after onions like I have here or can add them along with the stock and beans. Do add the tomato puree before adding the rice and let it out cook a bit before rice gets added. 

• If you don’t have paprika, substitute with a mix of regular and Kashmiri red chili powder.