Today I have decided to fix my eyes on the Malaysian tomato rice, a dish that has to be tasted to be believed.

Malaysian tomato rice is prepared with a plethora of spices and fresh ingredients, transforming the ordinary ingredients into a rice dish heavily scented with spices.  It is different from the tomato rice from southern India, cooked with different spices.

This rice dish is evolved from the original Indian version and has become the staple of Malay cuisine. It is the result of the cultural mash-up of Asian and Western cuisines due to the influence of the European countries who settled in this country in the past centuries and the migrants of the Indian community.

Tomato rice is a drool-worthy, gluttonous gem on par with biryani rice.  Furthermore, it has a universal appeal that everyone likes and kids friendly.

Fit for any banquet tables for festive occasions and ceremonies.  I bet you would like to give it a try.

Let’s kicks thing off with step-by-step instruction.

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1. Rinse and soak the rice

Rinse the rice with water just like preparing any steamed rice.

Some brand of rice is much cleaner than other. The basmati rice that I bought is generally very clean, and I only need to rinse it once or twice. On the contrary, certain brands of local long grain rice are dirtier and need to wash thoroughly.

The choice of rice:

You can use any long grain rice for this recipe or get the basmati rice while preparing for a special occasion. The shape of basmati rice is longer than the ordinary long grain rice, which is the preferred choice for biryani rice and tomato rice.

You may soak the rice for at least half an hour before cooking. Rice that is pre-soaked has a softer and lighter texture. The tomato rice will be firmer if you do not pre-soak the rice. You can choose which way you want, depending on the outcome that you would like to be.

Either way, strain the rice to remove the water before adding to the sautéed ingredients in the following steps.

2. Fried the dry spices

Heat some ghee in a saucepan, giving you an extraordinary flavor. Add the whole spices (cloves, cinnamon, star anise, and cardamom) into the pan over low heat until aromatic. You can use butter or margarine instead of ghee as the substitute.

The above four spices are commonly used together in Malay cooking. Once they are heated up, they release the essential oil, making it very aromatic.

This is the Malaysian version of the tomato rice which is different from the authentic Indian recipe, in which mustard seeds, cumin seeds, garam masala, curry leaves, dry chilies, red chili powder, and green chilies are used as the spices.

Buy the spices in small quantities. You will get a much better taste if the spices are fresh. It is tempting to buy a larger amount, but the spices will lose their fragrance and become stale over time.

3. Brown the onion and saute the garlic and ginger

After that, add the chopped onion, minced garlic, and ginger to the saucepan.

Cut the onion into thin slices and loosen before adding it to the pan to let it brown evenly.

Some people prefer to cut the ginger into fine julienne, but I do not like to chew on a piece of ginger.  The goal is not to have large pieces of ginger in the rice. Also, young ginger is always preferred over the old one, which is fibery.

The heat should not be too high while sautéing, as garlic can burn quickly and produce a bitter taste.

You will start to smell the aroma rising from the pan at this point.

Continue stir-frying over low to medium heat until the onions turn soft and slightly brown.

Watch this video (below the instruction for the recipe)

A picture worth a thousand words, a video worth a thousand images.
This video will show you how to prepare Tomato Rice. (5.53 minutes). It is located below the Instruction and above the nutrition value in the recipe below.

(Note: If you encounter any audio / visual problems with viewing this video, you can view it from YouTube by clicking this link, which will open in a new tab)

4. Add the fresh tomato

Chopped two tomatoes into small chunks and added them to the mixture in the saucepan. I like to cut the tomatoes into small chunks rather than mash them into a paste, as I want the fresh tomatoes to be seen and scattered in between the rice.

You may want to add more tomato for a richer taste.  The ratio of uncooked rice to water is 1:1, slightly less than cooking regular white rice because tomato has a high water content.

5. Add tomato puree, salt, water (milk)

Add some tomato puree in addition to the fresh tomatoes at this point.

You may wonder why tomato paste is necessary for this recipe since we use fresh tomatoes.

Honestly, most of the local tomatoes are not as red and sweet as those you can get from countries with temperate climates. Adding the commercially produced tomato puree can improve the flavor and, more importantly, provide a tinge of red color to the ice.

Season with salt and add sufficient water to cook the rice.

Add some milk

You can substitute part of the water with milk for a richer flavor. I did not use it in this recipe, but it is a welcome variation.

6. Cook the rice (with the rice cooker)

There is an easy way to boil the rice- with the rice cooker.

Pour the tomato mixture into the rice cooker.  Add the soaked rice and let the rice cooker do the work.

If you do not have a rice cooker, use a pot or large saucepan with a heavy bottom:

• Once the water is boiled, add the rice to the pot.
• Boil the rice over medium heat until the water starts to dry out. Then continue cooking with the lid on.
• Turn to low heat and simmer over low heat until the rice is cooked and tender.

Remove the lid to let the steam release.

Loosen the rice by fluffing it while it is still warm. Otherwise, it will form lumps after it cools down.

Note: If you do not have a rice cooker, you can do the same with a large pot. Make sure to cook it at a barely simmering temperature.

7. Topping and garnish

Scoop the rice onto the serving plate. Topped with some roasted cashew nuts. You can also use toasted almond slices if you prefer.

Add some chopped coriander leaves (or mint leaves) on top, and sprinkle some fried shallot onto it. Now you have a bowl of lovely tomato rice with a chorus of aromas hitting your nose.

You can serve tomato with any dish, but I choose Ayam Masak Merah (chicken stew in tomato sauce) and dhal curry.

Other rice recipes you for you.

I want to recommend some rice dishes for you to try since you like tomato rice. You can find the recipe on this food blog.

• Taro rice (芋头饭) is an easy one-pot meal that is incredibly delicious. Besides taro, it is prepared with shitake mushrooms, Chinese sausage, and fried shallots.
• Japanese fried rice is a highly fragrant fried rice with crispy garlic. It is usually served as a side dish for Japanese set meals.

The Tomato Rice Recipe