preparation time: 15 minutes
cooking time: 5 minutes
serves 4
3/4 cup cooked Patna or Basmati rice (5 ounces)
2 tbl oil or ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 large onion, chopped finely
8 tbls mushrooms, chopped finely
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp coriander powder
salt
4 large tomatoes
2 tbls coriander leaves (cilantro), chopped, to garnish
cook the rice and set aside.
heat the oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they pop, add the onions and sauté until translucent
stir in the mushrooms and the powder spices and cook for about 5 minutes
add the cooked rice, coriander leaves, and salt and mix well*. Remove from the heat and reserve.
cut the tops off the tomatoes. scoop out the flesh inside and set aside to use for another dish (or, it could be blended and reheated with various spices to use as a sauce over the completed dish).
Fill the tomatoes with the rice and mushroom mixture and serve at room temperature, each tomato garnished with a sprig of coriander (cilantro leaf)
*tofu is a nice addition to this recipe, especially as an additional source of protein. If tofu is desired, simply fry it in some ghee and mix with the other ingredients during this step.
From The Indian Spice Kitchen, by Monisha Bharadwaj. Hippocrene Books, Inc., 2000
Copyright 2004 West-Art, Prometheus 91/2004
PROMETHEUS, Internet Bulletin for Art, Politics and Science, Nr. 91, Spring 2004