Preheat the oven to 180°C
Arrange the tomatoes, garlic, shallots, coriander stems, thyme and cinnamon sticks in a large casserole or baking dish. Pour in the olive oil, ½ tsp of salt and ½ tsp of pepper. Place in the oven, uncovered, for 1 hour until softened.
Remove from oven and sprinkle the rice all over the vegetables, but do not stir them together.
Increase the oven temperature to 220°C
Carefully pour the boiling water evenly over everything. Seal the dish tightly with tin foil.
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, until the rice is cooked. Remove and set aside for 10 minutes. Do not remove the foil. The residual steam will finish cooking the rice perfectly.
Then remove the foil and serve.