My Mother's Tomato Biryani

Tomato Biryani

My mother makes the best tomato biryani. It's one of her specialties, and a dish that we always request she make even years after we've all grown up and moved out. It's the perfect wholesome comfort food. I've never tried to make it before. I just saved it in my recipe archive for some day. Well, some day has come and for this Mother's Day, I decided to try my hand at it. Before I get started, I must note that this recipe always feeds a crowd so try reducing it by half if you're trying to feed a family of four. I, myself, do not mind having leftovers ready to go in the fridge so I made the full batch :)

2 cups Uncle Ben's Original Parboiled Long Grain Rice*
1 small can of tomato paste
4 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed or ground into paste
1 inch piece ginger, ground into paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp red chili powder or to taste
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup multi-colored bell peppers, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
4 celery stalks, cleaned, trimmed and diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
1-2 ears of corn on the cob, cut into thirds (optional)
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp Garam masala (optional)

1. First, boil the rice, much like you would for pasta. So bring a pot of water to a boil. Add salt. Once water comes to a vigorous boil, add the Uncle Ben's rice and let it cook for about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2.  Second, steam the vegetables. I use a two pot steamer for this step. The corn will steam on the bottom, while the veggies steam on the top of the steamer basket. So to the bottom pot the one in which you fill the water, I would add the corn on the cob. To the steaming basket, I add the carrots, celery, peas and corn because those veggies have a longer cooking time. Cover and steam for about 25 minutes.
4. While the veggies are steaming, I prepared the tomato base. Heat oil in Dutch oven on medium heat.. Add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add onions and saute for a few minutes. Then add the bell peppers and let them sweat a little bit. Add the ginger and garlic paste next along with some salt. I salted in this step (enough for the rice and veggies) so start off with at least a teaspoon. After about a minute, add the tomato paste. Cook the tomato mixture for about 5-7 minutes. Add the red chili and garam masala (if using) in this step as well.
5. Once the veggies are done steaming, add them straight into the tomato mixture. Mix well. Now, add the boiled rice to the pot and mix everything together.Lower the heat, and continue cooking for at least another 10 minutes or so to allow the flavors to come together.
6. We serve our biryani hot, hot with cool cucumber raita and potato salad. Enjoy!

The first note I wanted to make was that my mom specially uses this brand of rice. She's tried other types of rice, like regular long grain and basmati, but none ever comes out as well as the Uncle Ben's! Secondly, the garam masala is optional. My mother's biryani does not have much spice, which is the way we like it. It's very simple, but you can adjust the seasonings to your preference. The biryani turned out really nice, obviously not as good as my Mom's, but I enjoyed it as did the kids. Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommys, Aunts and Grandmothers out there. I hope this recipe makes it into your own personal cookbooks for many to enjoy!