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Indian Tomatoes
1 cup boiled rice 1 teaspoon curry powder salt to taste 1 qt. stewed tomatoes, or 1 qt. can of tomatoes buttered bread crumbs Wash the rice through several cold waters. Add the curry powder and salt to the tomatoes; mix well. Put a layer of the tomatoes in the bottom of a baking dish, then a layer of the rice, then a layer of tomatoes, and so on until all is used, having the last layer of tomatoes. Sprinkle the top over with bread crumbs and bake in a moderate oven for a half hour. Serve in the dish in which it was baked. Serves 6.
A simple layered casserole of rice and tomatoes lifted by curry powder. Two details in the wording are worth knowing before you start: the rice is already cooked, and "buttered bread crumbs" is a prepared item, not two separate ones.
- Rinsing cooked riceTaken literally, the instruction to wash the rice through several cold waters applies to the boiled rice named in the ingredients, though it may be a carryover from the usual direction to wash raw grain before boiling. Rinsing off surface starch helps keep the grains separate rather than setting into a paste; drain it well so it does not water down the tomatoes.
- Moderate oven350F. Half an hour is enough to heat everything through and brown the crumbs, since nothing in the dish is raw.
- A quart of tomatoesAbout 32 oz, so two 14.5 oz cans with their juice, or a 28 oz can plus a little water. Canned tomatoes were commonly sold whole and packed loose; break them up and, if yours are unusually juicy, drain off some liquid or the dish will be soupy against only one cup of rice.
- Buttered bread crumbsToss fresh soft crumbs with melted butter, roughly one tablespoon of butter to half a cup of crumbs, before scattering them on top. Dry crumbs added without fat will not brown properly in half an hour.
- Curry powderA teaspoon spread through a quart of tomatoes is a whisper by current standards, and ready-mixed commercial curry powders of this sort were generally mild and turmeric- and coriander-forward. Taste the seasoned tomatoes and add more if you want the spice to register.
- Dish sizeA 1.5 to 2 quart baking dish gives you enough depth for four or five layers. It is meant to go to the table in the dish it baked in, so choose something presentable.
- YieldSix, as stated, but as a light main course it is closer to four. It suits a fried egg on top or a bean dish alongside.