I know you all were probably expecting a dessert recipe. It’s just that the cake was store bought and nothing special, but this lentil and rice dish I got the chef to give me is definitely worth sharing.
Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions
by: Three Many Cooks
Serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients
- 1½ cups brown or green lentils (about 10 ounces)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 large onions, halved and sliced thin
- 1½ cups basmati rice
- 3 tablespoons garam masala
- Salt
Instructions
- Bring lentils and 3½ cups of water to boil in a large skillet. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, until lentils are almost tender and most of the liquid has absorbed, about 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a Dutch oven. Finely chop about ½ cup of the sliced onions and add to the hot oil; sauté until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add rice and garam masala; sauté until toasty and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Add 3 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt, along with simmering lentils and their cooking liquid. Bring to boil and reduce heat to low; simmer until rice and lentils are tender and liquid has absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, return skillet to high heat. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil and the onions; sauté until tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; continue to sauté until caramel brown, about 10 minutes longer.
- Serve lentils and rice, adding water, if necessary, to make a moist dish. Top each with a portion of onions and serve.
What brand of garam masala do you use or do you make your own blend? If so, can you please share the recipe? thanks!
Good question, Stephanie. The chef didn’t exactly use garam masala. The translation from Arabic to English was just “mixed spices.” He gave me some to take home and as soon as I smelled it, I knew it was similar to what we know as garam masala. When I got home I did a smell check and sure enough, they were similar.
I think any spice mix called garam masala would flavor these rice and beans just fine, but for the record, I used widely available McCormick brand garam masala.
Such simplicity, but such greatness! The onions make a weeknight meal fancy! Thanks for this 🙂
Have a GREAT trip 🙂
We make this in Lebanon (minus the garam masala). We call it Mdardra. One of my favorite dishes ever. We eat it with plain yogurt or, in the summer time, with a yogurt and cucumber salad.