Turmeric Rice With Tomatoes Recipe (2024)

By Yotam Ottolenghi

Turmeric Rice With Tomatoes Recipe (1)

Total Time
50 minutes
Rating
4(734)
Notes
Read community notes

There are a few foolproof ways of cooking perfect, fluffy long-grain rice, and this is one of them. The pot is covered with a lid and a tea towel for a short time, then set aside to let the rice finish cooking in the steam that has built up. The finished dish is deliciously rich and lemony and would go perfectly with some grilled fish or chicken. The bright yellow of the turmeric and the red pop of the cherry tomatoes mean that it’s also a treat for the eyes.

Featured in: Rice, Coming Off the Sidelines, Becomes a Centerpiece

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 side servings

  • 5garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 10cardamom pods, crushed (keep a few of the pods and all the seeds)
  • tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
  • 5tablespoons/75 milliliters olive oil, divided
  • 1lemon, yellow peel shaved into 5 wide strips, and fruit squeezed to get 2 tablespoons juice
  • 1teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1pint/400 grams cherry tomatoes
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1⅔cups/300 grams basmati rice
  • 2cups/500 milliliters vegetable stock or water
  • ¼cup/5 grams loosely packed parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

308 calories; 12 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 519 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Turmeric Rice With Tomatoes Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    In a medium-size deep skillet with a tight-fitting lid, combine garlic, cardamom, thyme, 3 tablespoons oil and the lemon peel strips. Turn heat to medium-low and gently cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often, until garlic just begins to soften and turn golden.

  2. Add turmeric, tomatoes and 1¼ teaspoons salt and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to blister, taking care not to break them apart. Add rice, stock (or water) and a generous grind of pepper and gently stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover the pan with a clean tea towel and seal with the lid, securing the towel edges well over the lid so they don’t catch fire.

  3. Step

    3

    Reduce heat to very low and let cook undisturbed 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, leaving the lid on, and let rest 5 minutes. Remove lid and towel and use a large fork to gently fluff rice and evenly disperse the tomatoes. Gently stir in lemon juice, remaining 2 tablespoons oil and parsley. Let rest 5 minutes more before serving.

Ratings

4

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734

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Willow

This is mind boggling to me. What you cooked, Marisa, has almost nothing to do with the recipe presented.

Kate

They mean "don't put ALL of the crushed pod casings into the dish, but do put in all of the seeds that come out of the pods." So if you're crushing 10 pods, maybe put in three or four pod casings, and all of the interior seeds.

KateNauman

Maybe it doesn’t need “many adjustments” because the adjustments you made clearly made it watery and gross.. frozen spinach? ground pork? Diced tomatoes? What?!

Karen B

I don't understand the instruction to "keep a few of the pods and all the seeds." For what?

Steve

Thank you, Willow. I made a similar comment but the Times didn't approve it. Though they'll approve people posting/rating recipes that are a total departure from that published.

Anaya

Yes, 1.5 teaspoon ground cardamom will do the job

Clancy

Good recipe. Used lemon zest instead of the strips and it worked well. Also used zested turmeric because the grocer had fresh knobs.Next time will try a pinch of saffron.

Jason

I cooked this in my instant pot pressure cooker. I just used rice mode. After they were done cooking I released the steam and kept it on keep warm mode. I then mixed in lemon juice after 5 min of resting.

CDub

Can this be made in a rice cooker? Has anyone tried? Thanks!

Camille

This was delicious! One change I made, inspired by Jaime Oliver, was to cook the rice with a preserved lemon, and then chop the soft lemon up and recombine with the rice, instead of using a regular lemon and adding peel and juice. It might be too perfumy for some, but I love it.

Joyce

I made the recipe as written and my husband and I marveled at how satisfying it was. This method with the dishtowel is brilliant — have used it with other rice recipes and all is perfection. Love the flavors here! Will try fresh turmeric next time.

AnnabellaJ

This recipe has an outstanding flavor. However, cooks should know that not all basmatis are created equal. The recipe underestimated the proportion of liquid to rice. I use Lundberg, and my rice is always delish. But even after cooking & testing, the rice was crunchy. Use the directions your brand calls for.

AD

I used my Le Creuset Dutch oven on low heat to make this and it turned out perfectly. I did also wash the rice in a couple of changes of water and let it soak for about 15 minutes before cooking.

Alyson Hardin

Use less oil at the end if you want. But is it fair to criticize the recipe for a spice your family doesn't like? You changed the flavors significantly, especially omitting the lemon. Your vegetables threw off the liquid proportions, and surely you can't expect much help from cooking already-cooked ground pork for 20 minutes! Maybe make this as directed, mound on a platter with fresh raw spinach and leftover shredded pork, or roast a pork tenderloin. Oops, I just planned a dinner party!

Delee

Agreed. Recipe already calls for a tight-fitting lid. I think a towel absorbs about as much moisture as it prevents from leaking out. There's a liquid variable with the tomatoes (1 pint) might have two or three more. I find it useful to make sure the powdered turmeric is completely enveloped in the oil before adding anything else. It's a very fine powder.

Nancy

Followed the recipe as is except made it in the Instant pot. I did add a pinch of saffron which gave it a subtle elegant flavor.

inMaine

This was my go to comfort recipe this summer. More satisfying than Kitcharee, Notes: you need a lot more water. Soaking helps but do your typical 2:1 ratio. And it takes longer. I prefer flavors with white basmati and turmeric. This recipe with a pint of baby tomatoes- has lots of healing properties. I have made it in cast iron pot on stove and in my rice cooker (1/2 recipe so it didn’t overflow) My tea towel worked well on the stove. Magic!!

Chris

Cooked. Basmati rice and a little extra stock. Very good.

Mary

NY Times, please adjust wording in directions to clarify, “add all the cards on seeds and a few of the crushed pods”. It really isn’t clear as worded in the ingredient list. Thanks!

ct

I’ve made this as written with lemon peel strips and zest (as suggested in the comments) and can say that the strips are superior. They add a lemon essence as well as a periodic bite of lemony brightness when eating the final dish.

ct

Really really good. Used a mixture of 50/50 oil and ghee. Topped with more parsley than called for. I like parsley. I threw in a shallot with the garlic, thyme and lemon. Unnecessary! Will make again. Perhaps with little less oil and salt for an everyday meal. Will make as is for guests.

Sandy

Follow the directions precisely....use cardamom PODS, not ground cardamom. This is the best rice dish I've ever eaten!!! Outstanding recipe.

Kathleen Scharf

Made exactly as written and everyone loved it. Might add saffron next time just to try it not because it needs anything.

Suzi

Not sure what happened, reading the glowing reviews, but this was not good. I made it exactly according to the recipe, except I didn't have cardamom in pods so I just put the seeds (I assumed about 9 seeds per pod, based on what I found online). The flavors were not strong and what was there, was not balanced. It was very cardamom-y, I think some cumin or maybe if I had had chicken broth that would have helped. The tomatoes were also weird. One of the worst things I've made from NYT.

Susan B.

This was delicious! However, the cooking time listed in the recipe was way off for the type of brown basmati rice that I was using. I will make it again but will change a few things - lemon zest instead of the strips, cooking time for the rice needs to be what is recommended on the rice packaging which was more than twice what the recipe was calling for. The flavors blended together spectacularly. Not sure the towel is effective since my rice wanted 35 min. of cooking time.

Fred

December 12, 2021 B+ Very good with not right ingredients

Pauline

This dish is just extra good.I confess that the whole tea towel part threw me (“make sure it doesn’t catch on fire”) plus do I want fumes from any towel in food?So I made the first part in a saucepan and then put it and the rice and stock in my rice cooker. I did take other commenters advice to follow directions for your particular rice so I did and it was fantastic and I love my rice cooker.

Ayu

Made this (mostly) as written tonight. It was extremely delish! I used an oval Le Creuset dutch oven, so the rice wasn’t dry and fluffy but we liked the risotto-esque texture. Washed and soaked Lundbergh rice beforehand. Had only cardamom seeds on hand, no pods, but it worked out fine. The flavors were surprisingly complex given the simplicity of preparation. It’s getting added into our all-star file, really nice dish.

Angela W.

Tastes delicious, but I must concur with another commenter—follow the cooking directions on your package of rice. 2 cups of liquid for 1 2/3 cups of rice is not nearly enough. Mine came out tasty but a bit “al dente.”

TJ

Excellent rice. It’s a rare mix of flavors that makes this rice taste so good.

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Turmeric Rice With Tomatoes Recipe (2024)
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