Soak rice: Soak rice for 30 minutes in 200mL of water. After 30 minutes, drain and set aside
Roast Vegetables: Chop peppers and onions into quarters. Peel garlic, then drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil over the vegetables. Grill at the highest rung in the oven at 220ºC for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove from grill, and blend to puree. This should yield approx. 250mL of puree.
Add puree to a large pot with a good fitting lid. Add 400mL of tomato passata. Set stove on medium heat* (refer to TIP below), and simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, add stock cube, paprika, chicken spice, and 100mL of water. Still on medium heat, simmer with the lid off for 25 minutes, stirring frequently (every 5 minutes or so) to prevent the tomato sauce from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan. This should reduce the tomato sauce to the ratio of 1.5 to 1.
Add the pre-soaked rice to the pot, and stir to distribute the rice evenly into the tomato sauce mix. Cover the pot with a film of foil, then put the lid of the pot over the foil. (The foil and a tight fitting lid should prevent any steam from escaping from the pot).* Do not be tempted to open the lid at any point while the rice is cooking.
Reduce the heat setting to low-medium* and cook for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, reduce the heat to low and cook for another 5 minutes.
