Tomato Rice w/Green Onions

So, here is another great recipe for you - full of tomato flavor with 'secret' herb to give it a kick & topped with green onions. One-pot! 

​Tomato rice is one of my favorite. It is a very famous South Indian dish and what makes this so good is the addition of veggies and thyme - a new twist...:) One of the greatest change you can make in your health is by deciding that you will never cook just plain rice. Yes - always add something to your rice because it not just gives aroma and taste but also health.

​Whenever I have to make rice, I always add as much nutrition as possible along with healing spices, herbs and healthy fats. Also to mention, I eat a high-fat diet - yes, the good fats are really necessary for everything from cognitive health to skin and hair as well as healthy weight and hormones. I also make sure my dogs are getting lot of fresh veggies in their diet and they too are given lots of healthy fats. 

On The Garden Recipe, you can be assured that with each recipe, you are really learning not just something that is easily do-able but also at the same time incorporating healthy items in your cooking. What do I mean?

​Whereas other bloggers and recipe sites don't care what oil they use (most are still using refined oils!), what healthy substitutions should be made (dairy and canned purees are still a fashion - ugh!) and not to mention the use of white salt and sugar - goodness! still!, but here you won't see any of these things being in your dish. Nope - not at all. NEVER!

Now, this dish is great as it uses one of the best healing herbs on this planet: thyme. It is excellent for allergies, for respiratory issues (congestion, bronchitis, coughs, sore throat, etc), arthritis, anti-septic, anti-microbial and of coarse, anti-cancer due to its thymol content. 

Did you know it also increases the amount of healthy fats like DHA in brain, kidney and heart cell membranes? So, better get cooking with thyme...and add to it some coconut oil in the recipe, you are sure to get the benefits and feel good. 

And of coarse, we top this with coconut butter - yum! It is heart healthy, weight friendly, anti-inflammatory and of coarse, super important, it is also kind to planet and animals. 
 
​Ingredients -

1. 4 organic medium tomatoes
2. 2 organic yellow onions
3. 1 organic green bell pepper and 1 red bell pepper
4. Garlic - 1 whole or can even use ginger-garlic paste 1 full teaspoon.
5. Organic basmati/jasmine rice - 1 cup

Spices and oil -

1. Organic, unrefined coconut oil - 4 tablespoons
2. Organic Himalayan sea salt - 1/2 teaspoon approx. to begin with. Adjust later if needed.
3. Cayenne and thyme - do 1/2 teaspoon each and you can increase at the end if you need more spicy or peppery.

Optional (can add for little hint of sweetness & add only 1 of these 2 first - later at the end, you can add the 2nd if you like)  

1. Orange marmalade - only add 1/3 teaspoon
2. Organic ketchup - 1 full teaspoon
3. Can add any more veggies of your choice like organic corn, mushrooms, zucchini, squash...

Top with -

1. 1 bunch organic green onions
2. Black pepper - sprinkle at the end.
3. Organic coconut - plant based butter - I use Melt organic. Love it!!
4. Organic, UN-refined apple cider vinegar - 1 tablespoon minimum. 

Simple steps -

1. In a bowl you will use later to eat, soak in basmati (or any rice of your choice) rice approx. 1 cup. Let it soak for 30 mins or more before you start cooking.
 
2. In steel pan, throw in coconut oil, onions, tomatoes and garlic. Sauté on medium till soft - like 3-4 mins. Add bell peppers and salt along with cayenne and thyme. Cover till vegetable juices start coming out, about 10 mins on low heat.

3. Now open the cover, Add rinsed rice and water - enough to cover the rice in pan. Increase the heat to medium so it boils. Let it boil and then reduce heat to low, cover and let cook. Check often since you are cooking in steel and mix often too.

4. Check in 6-7 minutes and mix all. If water is gone, then close the stove. If not, cook a minute extra and close the stove. Leave covered. Keep watch. 

5. Now add black pepper and green onions. Top with Melt organic butter or any other plant based butter.

6. AFTER 15-20 mins (yes, nutrition takes effort), come back, mix the food and see how hot it is. If it has cooled down, THEN add your tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. If you can take another spoonful, then add 1 more (even better!).

Servings -

To reduce the quantity, all you have to do is reduce the rice quantity accordingly. I would suggest keeping the veggies quantity the same. 
To increase (if making for guests, etc.) - Add more rice and add on more veggies/onions of your choice. Simple!

Single (Adult portion size) - This would serve approx. 3 servings.
2 people (Adult portion size) - approx. 2 serving each.
Family of 4 - 1 serving each.

NOTE - If wanting to make less quantity, then reduce your rice to only 2/3 cup and reduce your veggies, onions, tomatoes per your choice. Simple! 

Enjoy the dish with your family and dogs. Give some of this fresh dish to your dogs too and watch them enjoy - you can mix in their food or plain rice to even out the taste for them. My dogs eat it just like that and they love it. So here's to happy meals for you and family (and if you have dogs) happy dogs!

For those with SUGAR issues:-

If you have sugar issues, you can still enjoy this recipe with 2 very simple, easy options!

1. REDUCE the quantity of rice and add some quinoa. So, you can do, say, 30% rice to 70% quinoa.
2. OR, you can eliminate rice completely - make the recipe as is, and mix in quinoa instead of rice.
And remember, to add some Ceylon cinnamon to your food when cooking AND when ready to eat. 

Want some quick meal with left-over bread? Here's a great recipe - Bread Veggie Mix w/Mustard Seeds

1. Top with coconut butter and green onions.

2. Mix and adjust salt/spices if needed.

3. Enjoy your new fried rice recipe.