This flavour-packed Nigerian Tomato rice is a simple one-pot dish, quick and easy to make. It adds an awesome variety to your dinner table and rice dishes. It is totally Nigerian with the unique taste of yaji (suya spice) shining through.

Unlike the Nigerian Jollof rice, tomato rice is made with fully cooked rice. Since we eat a lot of rice in my home, there is almost always leftover rice and this dish is an excellent way to use it up. It gives a delicious and spicy life to your plain leftover rice.

Nigerian tomato rice has a little tanginess to it that the addition of a little sugar will neutralise but it is totally optional. You can make it extra special by adding shrimps, shredded chicken, mushrooms, pieces of fish or other protein you have available, maybe leftover from another meal.

To Prepare Nigerian Tomato Rice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger 
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teasopoon paprika or dry pepper
1/2 teaspoon tumeric (gangamau)
1/2 tablespoon (yaji)suya spice
1 scotch bonnet, fresh pepper
2 large tomatoes 
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 small green bell pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)
2 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup fresh peas

Dice onion, tomatoes and green pepper into 1-inch cubes. Mince scotch bonnet and set aside.

Mix tomato paste with 2 tablespoons of water set aside.

In a saucepan or frying pan, add vegetable oil and place over medium-low heat.

When hot, add onions, fry until soft.

Add ginger and garlic stir until aromatic.

Stir in the dry spices, turmeric, paprika or dry chilli pepper and yaji.

Add diced tomato and pour in tomato paste mix, stir well.

Add green pepper and peas, stir and cover.

Leave to simmer until peas are cooked through and tomatoes are broken down 2-3 minutes.

Pour in the rice and sprinkle in 2 tablespoons water, stir and cover.

Simmer until dry.

Notes

If you don’t have yaji, use whatever special spice mix you have, Cajun, Chinese 5 spice, etc.
You can add thinly sliced scent leaf (nchuanwu).
You can replace fresh garlic and ginger with powdered for convenience.

If you enjoyed my Nigerian Tomato Rice recipe using leftover rice, you will also enjoy my Nigerian jollof rice, Yellow rice, Turmeric yellow rice, Cabbage rice, Cabbage fried rice and Nigerian green curry rice.