Nasi Tomato
(Traditional Malay Rice Dish )

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Nasi Tomato ("Tomato Rice") is one of the popular traditional rice dishes of the Malays in Pahang and also in other states of Malaysia.

It is usually served during traditional Malay weddings and engagements, Malay festivals such as Aidil Fitri and Aidil Adha, and also during formal luncheons and dinners.

Nasi Tomato can sometimes be found, in place of plain white rice, in established restaurants and hotels as part of the offerings for Malay cuisine for lunch or dinner.

Well, to those surfers of Pahang-Delights with inclination to cook, (and from the e-mails received I know there are many of you), here’s the recipe given by my daughter Natasya (who is pursuing culinary science in college), for you to try. Perhaps this recipe has been given a modern touch.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups Basmati rice or long grain rice (washed and drained)
• 2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 tablespoon ghee
• 15 small onions, sliced
• 1 cup water
• 1 can of evaporated milk

Spices:

• 4 candlenuts, ground
• 2 star anise
• 3 cloves
• 1 piece cinnamon bark

Garnishing :

• Fried onions
• spring onions
• celery

COOKING METHOD

1. Spoon in the ghee into the cooking pot and allow to cook for a minute.
2. Add in all the spices and cook for about two minutes.
3. Then mix in the rice, and cook for also about 2-3 minutes.
4. Then add water, milk and tomato paste and mix and blend them together with the rice. Boil the mixture until the rice is fully cooked.
5. When the rice is cooked, serve with the garnishings.

The taste of this traditional rice dish is sweeter because of the tomato paste (sometimes tomato puree is used) blended and mixed with the rice. Sometimes too, raisins and cashew-nuts are added into the mixture to give a more varied taste.

This delicious yellowish-red colored rice is normally eaten or taken with the rendang chicken and beef, opor daging, pineapple patcheri, dalcha, and other traditional dishes of the Malays.

Don't forget to try this dish whenever you're in Pahang.

So, until then, from me ...

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