For a long time, I was scared to make rice. I would try and invariably end up with a crunchy pile of yuck. Eventually, I started listening to my mother and used her method, one of the most popular methods. It’s so easy I’m kicking myself for being so dense earlier. Just mix two parts water to one part rice. That’s it.
So, for this meal, I brought 4 cups of water to a boil, added some veggie stock cubes, and then added 2 cups of rice. I reduced the heat to low, covered it, and left it to simmer. I checked it occasionally, stirred a bit, and then was finished with my part of dinner.
On to Eslam and his veggies. He started with potatoes, tomatoes, a bag of frozen peas and carrots, and some garlic. First, he chopped the potatoes, tomatoes, and garlic. Then, he browned the garlic a bit, threw the rest in the pot with some water, stock cubes, and tomato paste. He stirred it all together, added spices, like paprika and cumin to salt and pepper. He covered it all and left it to boil.
After occasional stirring and roughly 30 minutes, it was finished. The tomatoes and tomato paste formed a strong, thick sauce that was seasoned with a nice kick and the veggies were tender. It really was just like his mom makes and better than the restaurants around here.