Curried Rice and Red Lentils

This recipe is posted the way I found it. I used my rice cooker for it though and it worked perfectly. I heated the oil in the rice cooker and sauteed the onion, then added curry and cooked a bit and then the water, rice and lentils and covered let it go till it turned to keep warm. Then I let it steam a bit longer and served. YUMMY!!


Curried Rice and Red Lentils

(4-6 servings, adapted from The Best Recipes in the World, by Mark Bittman)

2 T vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 T curry powder (I used more, we can't get enough spice here!)
3/4 cup red lentils (also called dal or pulses)
1 cup long grain rice
3 cups water
salt, pepper to taste
1-2 T melted butter
chopped parsley or cilantro, for garnish (optional)


Put the oil in a large, heavy pan with a tight lid and heat for one minute. Add onion and saute 3-5 minutes, until starting to brown on the edges. Add curry powder and saute 1 minute, then add water and bring to a boil. Add lentils and rice, bring back to a boil, then lower heat to a steady simmer and cover.

Cook 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender. (Bittman says if the liquid is not all absorbed, boil off the excess, but after 20 minutes all my water had been absorbed.) Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the melted butter just before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro if desired.