Spiced Lentils and Rice

I apologize for teasing you with a dish and then not posting it. My only excuse is that my daughter is home with me now full-time--no summer camp, no swim team--and she is bored, "heavy bored," as the poet John Berryman said. Finding activities to occupy her is taxing all my resources (as well as my limited sanity). Fortunately, she goes back to school in less than two weeks, and neither of us can wait.

As I mentioned, this is a "throw it all into your rice cooker and walk away" recipe. I've recently started experimenting with putting foods other than rice into the rice cooker, and I love not having to watch over it as it cooks. The one I own is a super-cheapie Black & Decker with two settings, Cook and Warm. I'm not exactly thrilled with its performance, so I suggest getting a more expensive, fuzzy-logic type of rice cooker if you can afford it. If not, the inexpensive ones work well, though I've found that I absolutely have to spray or brush the bottom of mine with oil, or it spits viscous, white droplets out of its vent-hole as it cooks, covering my upper cabinets and counter tops with rice spittle. A tiny bit of oil keeps it from foaming. I don't know if that's a problem with all Black & Deckers, but it keeps me from wholeheartedly recommending the one I have.

In this recipe, the lentils break down partially and become almost "meaty" because they cook more quickly than brown rice. I like the texture, but if you prefer the lentils to retain their shapes, try adding them to the cooker after the rice has cooked for 10 minutes. Note that this dish is "spiced," not spicy: cinnamon, cloves, and cumin give it a warm, rich flavor, but no heat.



Spiced Lentils and Rice

1 1/2 cup brown rice
3/4 cup lentils
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
6 cloves
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt (optional)
1/4 cup minced parsley

Put all ingredients except parsley into the rice cooker. Add water according to your rice cooker's instruction manual or use 4 cups of water. Stir and set to Cook. When the cooker shuts off, check to make sure both rice and lentils are tender and no water remains. If they are not tender, add 1/4 cup more water and restart. (This shouldn't be necessary, but rice cookers do vary.)

When done, remove the cinnamon and cloves, fluff the rice, and add the minced parsley. Serves about 6.

To cook it on the stovetop, follow the same directions, but increase the water to 4 1/2 cups. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, and cook on low until water is absorbed, about 45 minutes.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live