Indian-Spiced Rice with Lentils

I took the advice of the reviewer from San Francisco and put everything at once in my rice cooker. But I have a small rice cooker so this is what I did and it came out YUM: ½ cup white rice, ½ cup lentils, sprinkle of olive oil, 2 cups water, 1/2 tsp salt, ½ tsp chopped garlic, ½ tsp chopped ginger, ½ tsp cumin, dash of cinnamon/cloves/lime juice/turmeric.

• karengr

• Boston, MA

• 3/1/2015

哇,好吃! !我倾向于使用香料和somet相同imes use them to an overwhelming extent when I'm cooking without a recipe. Everything ends up tasting the same, whether I'm making Ethiopian food or Indian food. I like to try a new recipe every now and then to change up the spices. I did double the spices like a lot of others in this recipe. Be careful not to overdo the salt, though. I used 1/2 vegetable broth and 1/2 water to cook the lentils and added 3 tsp of salt and it was way too salty. (I was in a hurry and not thinking straight!) I also added a diced onion and steamed sweet potato as suggested by others, and cooked the rice separately. So even though I made a ton of changes, I think the original might have been a little bland for us. With the alterations it was fantastic and everyone scarfed it down. We also served Indian Potatoes on the side, recipe from this site. Yummy and I bet the leftovers will be excellent too!

• starletblue

• Pacific Northwest

• 2/28/2013

Unbelievably flavorful.

• bottad

• Brooklyn

• 11/3/2012

New cook here but I changed a few things and it turned out quite well. The boyfriend not only finished his plate but went back for seconds! I went ahead and cooked the lentils and rice beforehand save for the cooking time called for in the recipie. I also used brown rice instead of basmati(for the health benefits)and it went well. I doubled the amount of spices called for save for the salt which was a good call as it turned very flavorful without any extra salt. I am a fan of biriyani so I added a handful each of slivered almonds and golden raisins. I also steamed sweet potato cubes to fold in. I added these extras to the dish to simmer at the end. So, I guess I changed quite a few things but it turned out very flavorful and just the right consistency. Hope this helps!

• mkreigler

• Omaha, Ne

• 7/15/2011

fabulous for the health-obsessed chef (me). super nutritious and if you add huge quantities of the spices/seasonings and great sea salt, this is fantastic. ** dump all the ingredients into your rice maker** for a dish so easy it's a joke. my favorite trick. Recipes like this should be used as a skeleton and sensible chefs know to tinker with quantities according to personal taste. for me, that means huge quantities of anything that lends flavor. I used 1 1/2 c. brown rice and 1 c. green lentils, and 4 c. water and about 1 generous tablespoon sea salt. And added about 1/4 c. olive oil for health, fluffiness and clump prevention. Have fun with this!

• Anonymous

• san francisco

• 8/26/2010

Thank you so much for sharing. This is a great base recipe for leftover vegetables and, for some people, meats, but not necessary at all. I steamed sweet potato cubes to add with some nuts and golden raisins and it was incredible. If my mother had had this, Campbell's-mushroom- soup-casseroles would have been spared my generation of suburbanites! This will be a last-minute staple in my house without question. Thank you.

• pfunkchicago

• 6/28/2010

I was really dissapointed, the way every one was going on I was expecting this to be fabulous, as written its really quite bland and mushy, I ended up increasing the spices, adding chili sauce and greek yogurt to make it more interesting, but it is a good starter dish for any one who wants to make Indian food and is afraid of the strong flavors

• Anonymous

• New York City

• 1/26/2010

I read 32 reviews and made notes. I cooked green lentils, but began them in a separate pot. After they had cooked to near tender, I then added them in where called for and followed the rest of the direction. I added onion, 4 cardamom pods, diced tomato, cayenne pepper, 4 cloves garlic, 4 whole cloves rather than 2, no sugar, and the 1/2 the water and 1/2 veg stock. I probably used more turmeric and cumin seeds than called for. It was very good! Simple, filling, comfort kind of food. Served with naan and it was a good meal.

• juliedaily

• Minneapolis, MN

• 2/1/2009

Great recipe. I added a handful of chopped carrots and spinach and it turned out fabulous. I used brown rice so I cooked the rice separate from the lentils and decreased the total water used with the lentils.

• Anonymous

• Austin, TX

• 9/12/2008

Not very good. I used chicken broth instead of water and upped the ginger and reduced the salt as other reviewers suggested. It was still bland and had kind of a soapy flavor that we did not enjoy. Will not be making this one again.

• Anonymous

• Sausalito, CA

• 2/27/2008

I love this recipe, it is very healthy and makes great left-overs for lunch. Also make with brown rice and add carrots, celery and spinch for a vegetable version.

• Anonymous

• Selkirk, NY

• 1/13/2008

Read all the reviews ab=nd then decided to add rice first and cook for 5 mins. then added red lentils for 10 mins. Perfect! This is a family staple now.

• arbrown

• Vancouver BC Canada

• 12/22/2007

This recipe was tasty. Based on the other reviews, I cooked the lentils per these directions and cooked the rice separately. I had to simmer the lentils for about an hour to get them to the level of tenderness that I like, but it was worth it in the end.

• Anonymous

• Los Angeles

• 3/25/2007

I following the recipe as written. It was good!

• Anonymous

• Plano, Texas

• 9/7/2006

Unlike other reviewers, my rice was undercooked and the lentils a bit overcooked. The flavor was good. A great protein-rich dish that is easy and mildly flavored. I would say this is perfect for kids or others who are just beginning to appreciate the flavors of Indian food.

• Anonymous

• Seattle, WA

• 4/16/2006