Mexican Rice

At first I thought this was a diffucult dish to prepare such as paella.  Don't be intimidated, its a well loved rice dish by my friends and its always the first thing to be consumed everytime i serve it at home.

Mexican rice is an essential part of a burrito but it can stand alone as it is and it goes well with other mexican fares and barbeques!

Ingredients

1 cup long grain rice uncooked

2 cups chicken broth

1 tbsp. Olive oil

3 cloved garlic

Half of an onion

1 tbsp. Tomato paste

1/2 tsp. Ground cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp pepper

Put oil in a saucepan, add the onion while its still not smoky hot, once it softens, add the garlic and the tomato paste. Saute for about a minute. Add the rice and make sure that all grains are coated.  Season with salt, pepper, chili and cumin.  Pour the broth and stir.

Cover and reduce fire to medium low. Let  it cook for about 20 mimutes. Turn of heat once the rice becomes fluffy and dry.

Hint: if you think the rice is watery, let the rice cook for another 3-5 minutes but this time remove the cover to let the steam out.  To make my mexican rice more flavorful, I added bits of roasted chicken on it.