My Mexican Rice

Rice is cooked with cumin and onion, then simmered with tomato sauce and chicken broth for this restaraunt-inspired Mexican rice recipe.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 1  cup  uncooked long-grain rice
• 1  teaspoon  garlic salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1⁄4 cup  chopped onion
• 1⁄2 cup tomato sauce
• 2  cups chicken broth

Directions

1. 1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin.
2. 2. Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
3. My Note: A good basic, restaurant style Mexican rice. The key to this recipe is the seasonings you use. I tried it as written, just with the cumin, and it was not nearly as good as it was when I did it a second time using My Taco Seasoning I just sprinkled in what looked like enough, about 1-1/2 teaspoons This mixture includes cumin and many other spices which are perfect for this recipe. I also cooked my onion in the oil BEFORE adding the rice to get it nice and soft, added fresh minced garlic, and used chicken stock versus broth. Other than that, I followed exactly as written and it was perfect! The cook time is accurate, but I find that the last 5 min, I need to add a dash of broth to keep it from being too dry.
4. My Taco Seasoning: Is a mixture of spices and a little cornstarch for thickening, that closely resembles The packaged taco seasoning you might find in the store. There is no salt or MSG in this mixture.
5. Ingredients:
6. 6 teaspoons chili powder.
7. 5 teaspoons paprika.
8. 4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin.
9. 2 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
10. 2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder.
11. 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch.
12. 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
13. Directions:
14. 1. Put in a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine chili powder, paprika, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and cornstarch. Close lid securely, and shake well to mix contents. 7 teaspoons is equivalent to 1 (1.25 ounce) package of taco seasoning. Really great it's is "salt free"! This recipe is perfect as is, but I love to play with stuff so I used half regular paprika and half smoked paprika, upped the cayenne a bit and added some ancho chili powder.
15. If you never been able to get your rice to brown and/or puff in a skillet either, as my grandkid, she always use a rice cooker instead. She saute the onions, minced garlic and cumin in a skillet, then throw it into the rice cooker along with the 1 Celsius rice, 1-1/2 Celsius chicken broth and all the other ingredients, omitting the garlic salt. The cooker shuts off when the rice is done. Easy !