Fresh Tomatoes in Spicy Yogurt Sauce with Rice

12 fresh tomatoes, medium to large in size
32 oz. nonfat plain yogurt
2 TBSP olive oil
2 jalapeno or serrano peppers, finely chopped
3 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
4.5 cups whole grain brown rice (I use Uncle Ben's instant for speed)

Peel and core tomatoes* and set aside.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, chopped jalapeno, and spices and allow the mixture to cook for about 5 minutes, until all of the spices have had a chance to get to know each other, exchange phone numbers, etc.. Turn heat down to low, and add yogurt. Stir the mixture until well-blended and warm. Add tomatoes; roll tomatoes in the yogurt sauce until they are well coated. Cover skillet and cook on low heat until tomatoes are warm (about another 5 minutes). Serve over cooked whole-grain brown rice.

Makes 6 servings of 2 tomatoes, 1/6th of the sauce, and 3/4 cup of rice each.

*The easy way to peel tomatoes is to dip them in boiling water for about 10-15 seconds, then dip them in ice cold water for 10-15 seconds, then peel. I don't remove the entire core, just the stem portion at the top. This part of the recipe takes the most time

This recipe was adapted from a similar recipe found on the August 2007 edition of Sunset magazine.

Number of Servings: 6

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user MDOATB.