Beef and Tomato Rice

by Mandy Yin
Star 3.7
    15m prep time
    70m total time
    Easy level
    17 ingredients

The origins of Malay nasi tomato must have been Indian biryani, with the use of fragrant spices during the cooking process. You will often find tomato rice at Malay feasts accompanying rich curries and stews like rendang. I’ve used the idea of nasi tomato but zhuzhed it up with minced (ground) beef for protein and peas for a more balanced one-pot meal – sort of like fried rice that you don’t have to fry! Fresh tomatoes add a fabulous tang at the end. Please do not use canned tomatoes for this recipe.

Method

Based on 4 servings, adjust as needed.

Step 1

Finely chop the onion, garlic cloves and ginger in a small food processor.

Step 2

Warm the butter in a large casserole dish (Dutch oven) over a medium heat. Add the onion-garlic-ginger mixture and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add a couple of splashes of water if the mixture starts to stick – no more than 100ml (if cooking for 4) in total.

Step 3

Add the minced beef and stir-fry for 5-8 minutes.

Step 4

Add the rice, tomato purée, a generous pinch or 2 of salt, 800mls water (if cooking for 4), star anise, cloves, cassia bark or cinnamon, cardamom pods and peas. Stir, cover with the lid and bring to the boil, then reduce to the lowest possible heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Step 5

Turn off the heat and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Stir through the chopped tomatoes, coriander (if using), fried shallots or onions and tomato sambal/Spicy Malaysian chilli sauce (it's hot, so go easy!) before serving.
  • Ingredients
  • Based on 4 servings
  • 2 tbsp Fried Onions, or shallots 1 x Top Taste Crispy Onions 100g
  • 1 tbsp Malaysian Chilli Sauce, or Tomato Sambal 1 x Maggi Authentic Malaysian Extra Hot Chilli Sauce 320g
  • 2.5cm Ginger, peeled and roughly chopped 1 x Sainsbury's Ginger 100g
  • 400g Fresh Tomatoes, deseeded and chopped into 1cm (½in) cubes 1 x Sainsbury's Jubilee Large Vine Tomatoes, Taste the Difference 450g
  • 3tbsp Salted Butter 1 x Sainsbury's British Butter, Salted 250g
  • 1 Star Anise 1 x Sainsbury's Star Anise 15g
  • 1 stick Cassia Bark, or cinnamon stick 1 x Fudco Cinnamon Bark 100g
  • 2tbsp Tomato Purée 1 x Sainsbury's Tomato Puree, Double Concentrate 200g
  • 3 Cloves 1 x Sainsbury's Whole Cloves 30g
  • 3 Garlic Cloves, peeled 1 x Sainsbury's Garlic
  • 1 Onion, roughly chopped 1 x Sainsbury's Onions Loose
  • 2 pods Cardamom, gently bashed with a pestle to crack the skin 1 x Sainsbury's Cardamom Pods 28g
  • 150g Frozen Peas 1 x Sainsbury's Garden Peas 910g
  • 15g Fresh Coriander, roughly chopped, stems and all 1 x Sainsbury's Fresh Packed Bunch Coriander 30g
  • 400g White Rice, jasmine or basmati, washed until the water runs clear, then thoroughly drained 1 x Sainsbury's Basmati Rice 1kg
  • 500g Minced (Ground) Beef 1 x Sainsbury's British or Irish 5% Fat Beef Mince 500g
  • Maldon Salt, to taste 1 x Maldon Sea Salt Flakes 250g
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