Tex-Mex Rice From The Rio Grande Valley - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice, dry
3 tablespoons corn oil
2/3 cup canned tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon cumin, freshly ground
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced (optional)
1/4 cup onion, diced (optional)
1 garlic clove, finely minced (optional)
3 cups chicken broth

Preparation

Soak the rice - In a large bowl, pour hot water over rice and let stand 25 minutes.
While the rice is soaking, cut up the vegetables, and grind the cumin.
Drain into a sieve and rise well in cold water. Shake sieve and let drain a while until rice stops dripping.
While the rice is draining, heat oil in a skillet on medium heat.
Brown the Rice - Once oil is hot, stir in rice, making sure grains are well coated with oil. Saute rice for about 10 minutes until golden brown, stirring often. If any rice starts turning dark brown, stir constantly.
Stir in all the ingredients except chicken broth (tomato sauce, tomato, bell pepper, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper). Cook for 3 minutes on medium heat or until almost dry, stirring constantly.
Stir in chicken broth and then do not stir again until cooking is complete. Reduce heat to medium-low, cook uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Change heat to Low, cook covered, for 20 minutes.