One cannot merely put the ingredients of tomato sauce into a pot, heat it in some arbitrary way, and expect the result to be recognizable as tomato sauce.
That's literally the description of a famous tomato sauce[1]. You can add a cup or two of water and a pound of pasta to the same pot at some indeterminate time towards the end of the process.
Feel free to argue that arbitrarily heating it may involve burning it. Whatever. Pasta with tomato sauce is ridiculously easy.
[1] https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015178-marcella-hazans-...
I don't mean this to be a larger statement on the economics / logistics / choices / what have you of being in poverty.
1-Slice 3 to 5 tomatoes
2-Slice 1 to 2 portobello mushrooms.
3-Add olive oil to pan
4-Add ingredients to pan
5-Add salt to your liking.
6-Cover pan
7-Let it cook in a slow fire, no need to stir. Usually takes around 20 to 30 minutes. You can stir at the end to mix the sauce a bit.
-Use this sauce to top your pasta (pasta al dente is the best). Also add some Feta cheese.
Delicious.
p.s. I guess it would be more correct to call it chunky tomato sauce.
As for "failure modes" you can make things more consistent by boiling the water in a kettle before adding it to the rice. You really can't go wrong this way.