Day 39: Vegan Rice with Lentils and Caramelized Onions - April 25th, 2013

Great Lent means that we eat great lent-ils, right?  We know.  Not exactly.  So, what about lentils?  Well, today, we opted to put them with the rice and some aromatic seasonings to fill the house with wafting spice and to fill the table with something nice.  We eat lentils in many foods.  And, we eat rice with many meals.  So, putting them together in one dish seemed like a natural pairing.  But, once we added the cumin and the cinnamon, this blend of bland was transformed into a lovely medley for the taste buds!

This recipe comes from The Complete Book of Greek Cooking, by Rena Salaman and Jan Cutler.  We have found many recipes from this book, most of which are rather straight forward and easy to understand.

We started this recipe with fresh lentils.  The directions in the cookbook emphasise the importance of soaking the lentils (or any dry bean) overnight to get the proper texture.  And, then, we decided that we would just use canned lentils.  So, we measured 1 1/2 cups from the can, drained the lentils, and then washed them very well to remove any and all of the brining liquid.  You can decide what type you want to use; however, this was a very fast meal with the canned lentils because we did not have to wait for the cooking time and simmering time for the beans.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

1 1/2 cups lentils
2 onions
4 TBSP oil
1 TBSP cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup rice
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Chop 1/2 the onion and slice the other half. The chopped onion goes in the recipe and the sliced onion is used for the garnish.

Fry the chopped onion in half of the oil.  You will need the other half of the oil for the garnish.  Also, keep the sliced half set aside for now, and work only with the chopped onions.  Fry the onions long enough that they are soft, but try to avoid adding too much colour to the onions.

Add the lentils, cinnamon, and cumin.  Mix these in with the onions and the oil to make sure they are all coated well.  You should still have a layer of oil at the bottom of the pot.  If not, add a little bit of oil and mix again.  Let this cook for about three (3) minutes.  You will be lost in the aroma!

Now, add the rice.  We want to mix the rice into the oil and seasonings, and get all the grains coated.  Rice expands when it is cooked; that means that it is absorbing the cooking liquid (water in this dish), but it will also absorb some of the spices that are in the water, so we want to make sure that the rice is coated with spices.  Rice will not absorb the oil, but will get coated with the oil so it does not stick when it is cooked.  For loose and flowing rice, you cook the rice in oil before adding the water.

And then, it is time to add the water to the pot.  Typically, the water to rice ratio is 2 : 1.  In this recipe, the ratio is 1 1/2 : 1, which makes for a more firm rice.  That is what you want so that it will stand up next to the creamy lentils.  If you are doubling the recipe (or more) or even cutting the recipe in half, as long as you have the water to rice ratio the same, all the other ingredients are adjustable.

Mix this very well at first.  You want to evenly distribute everything in the pot.  Bring this to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer.  Put a lid on the pot and let it simmer until the rice is cooked--about 20 to 25 minutes.  Of course, the amount of time will vary slightly from the amount of heat you have, the amount of rice you are cooking, and all the typical variances that come with someone else's cooking.  We found that 25 minutes on the low heat setting made a beautifully cooked rice.  When we made this dish before, we can do it in about 17 minutes on a medium to medium-low heat setting.  While this is on the stove simmering, it is time to make the garnish!

The sliced onions that you have been waiting to use are for the garnish.  So is the remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil.  Fry the onions in oil over a medium heat until they are dark brown.  They will look burnt, but they are actually very dark brown.  And, cooking over medium heat gives you more control over the colour.  You want them a little bit crunchy, but still edible.  So, this may be the tricky part of the recipe.  We believe that if you have browned the onions well, then they will be fine for a garnish.  Once they are browned very well, set the onions aside until you are ready to serve the rice.  Garnish on top of the rice with lentils with the sliced, browned onions.

Making this dish was not difficult, but there were some tricky points -- especially with the garnishing onion slices.  We enjoyed the combination of lentils and rice.  We believe that it is a good idea to know different ways of making rice; that way you won't become bored with eating the same food over and over.  For some things, repetition is good.  For us, variety is the spice of life!

"... to fight the good fight, to walk the way of fasting, to crush the heads of the invisible dragons, to prove ourselves victorious over sin, and without condemnation to reach our goal of worshiping the Holy Resurrection" 

(Prayer of the Presanctified Liturgy)

An Exerpt from "On Fasting" written by
His Eminence Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh