Pilav, or rice, plays an important role in Turkish cuisine. Domatesli pilav (tomato pilav) is one of the tastiest variations. Combining red, ripe, sweet tomatoes and rice creates a flavorful, and summery side dish. If you have an abundance of tomatoes in your garden, you should try this Turkish recipe.
Table of Contents
Recipe
Tomato Pilav, Turkish Tomato Rice
This is a Turkish style rice Dish.
Ingredients
- 400 g canned diced tomatoes or 4 ripe tomatoes
- 260 g baldo rice, slightly more than 1 cup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 50 g butter
- 300 ml hot water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Soak the rice in warm water for 15 minutes. Then rinse thoroughly with cold water to remove the starch. Drain the rice in a sieve.
- Heat olive oil in a pan and add grated tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes. Add sugar to the tomatoes and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the water evaporates and you’re left with a thick tomato puree. Remove the tomatoes from the pan and set them aside in a bowl.
- Heat butter in the same pan and add the drained rice. Fry the rice, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.
- Add the thick tomato puree to the rice and stir everything well for another minute.
- Add hot water to the pan and let the rice simmer gently for 20 minutes with the lid on.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir the rice. Place a piece of kitchen paper between the pan and the lid. Let the tomato rice rest for 15 minutes before serving.
- Garnish the Turkish tomato rice with parsley and lemon slices.
Notes
First, the strained tomatoes are cooked until the water has evaporated and then set aside in a separate bowl. In the same pan, you fry the washed rice with butter. Then, you add the tomatoes back to the rice and cook everything with water for 20 minutes until the rice is tender.
The cooked rice should rest for 15 minutes with a tea towel and lid on top, allowing the towel to absorb any excess moisture. This process is called “demleme” in Turkey. Demeleme/demlemek translates to “steaming” or “resting” in English. It’s a process where the rice rests under a cloth and lid after cooking to absorb excess moisture and make the rice even softer and more flavorful.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 243Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 469mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 4gSugar: 7gProtein: 3g
Serving Suggestions
- Kebab or grilled meat: Serve the tomato rice as a side dish with kebabs, such as chicken or lamb kebab.
- Fish: It also pairs well with grilled fish.
- Kofte: Serve the Turkish tomato rice with kofte (Turkish meatballs).
- Salads: A fresh bean salad, piyaz, a traditional Turkish çoban salatası (shepherd’s salad), or a simple mixed salad makes a refreshing addition.
- Vegetable dishes: Pair the rice with stewed vegetables, such as stuffed peppers (dolma), eggplant dishes, imam bayıldı, or green beans in tomato sauce.
- Yogurt: Serve the rice with a yogurt sauce with garlic and cucumber (cacık) or a simple yogurt with mint. The creamy and refreshing flavors complement the rich tomato rice well.
- At the meze table: Set out a platter of meze, mixed olives, and some feta cheese for extra flavor and variety.
Tips
- For this rice, use the ripest, most flavorful summer tomatoes. If you can’t find them, use canned tomatoes, as I do. It turns out just as delicious as with fresh tomatoes.
- It’s essential that the rice cooks gently and that you let it rest after cooking. You can find more information about cooking Turkish pilav here.
- Instead of baldo rice, you can also use arborio or jasmine rice.
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