Now, that's coco-lao!

Tomato Pulao with a tinge of coconut!

Ingredients  

• Basmati rice 1 cup
• Tomato puree 2 cups
• Coconut milk 1/2 cup
• Green chillies 4
• A pinch of turmeric powder
• Cloves 4
• Cinnamon (a piece), four cardamom, bay leaf  (1)
• Small onions 4 (finely chopped)
• Small piece of dry coconut
• Oil  2tsp
• Coriander leaves

Method

• Mix tomato puree and coconut milk in a vessel and keep on a low flame. Shallow fry chopped onions and keep aside. Fry dry coconut pieces and keep aside.
• Grind green chillies and turmeric together to form a paste. Add oil to a cooker, fry bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom until light brown. Add Basmati rice to this, mix well.
• Add chilli-turmeric paste and fry well.
• Add tomato puree and coconut milk to above mixture and allow it to cook. Add salt to taste.
• Garnishing tip: Fried dry coconut pieces, fried onions and coriander leaves.

— As told to Aditi Jayakumar