Indian Lentil Pilaf Food

LENTIL RICE PILAF WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS (MUJADARA)

Steps:

• prep the ingredients: Add the lentils into a small saucepan and add water until the lentils are covered by at least 2 inches. Cook the lentils over medium-high heat until almost tender, about 15-18 minutes. Drain; set aside. Soak the rice in a bowl of cold water for 20 minutes while you caramelize the onions.
• onions: Add the olive oil into a deep, thick-bottomed pot (with a lid), like a dutch oven. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once it's hot, add the onions and stir them around to coat with the oil. Set a timer for 20 minutes and cook the onions for a total of 18-22 minutes, stirring often, or until the onions are a deep orange or brown color. If the onions start to brown before the 10-minute mark, lower the heat. Ideally, they should start developing color around 12-15 minutes. And from that point on, you'll need to stir the onions often so that they don't burn. Remove the onions to a plate lined with a paper towel.
• rice pilaf: Drain the soaked rice thoroughly and add it to the oil remaining in the pot (if you have less than a tablespoon, add a little more). Sauté the rice in the remaining oil for 2 minutes. Add the lentils to the pot and season with the cumin, coriander, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and let the water come to a rolling boil, cover, lower the heat to the lowest setting, and let cook for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the stove. Grab a piece of paper towel large enough to cover the pot. Add the caramelized onions to the top of the rice and place the paper towel flat on the pot before placing the lid on top. Let sit for 10 minutes (your stove should be off at this point). Fluff and mix in the onions before serving.

CURRIED RICE PILAF WITH RED LENTILS

Steps:

• In a medium sauce pan with a tight fitting lid, heat oil over medium high heat.
• Add onion, garlic and ginger and sauté for three minutes.
• Add dry rice and dry lentils and sauté for two minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium and add fresh tomato, garam masala and curry paste and stir and cook for one minute.
• Add cilantro, coconut milk and water and raise heat to high.
• Bring to a boil, cover and lower heat to low.
• Cook covered for 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add salt and pepper, stir and let sit covered for five minutes.
• Serve with additional chopped cilantro.

SOUTH INDIAN EGG CURRY WITH RICE & LENTIL PILAU

Steps:

• Mix the rice and lentils in a bowl. Cover with cold water and soak for 15 mins.
• Meanwhile, for the curry, heat the oil in a wok or medium saucepan, then toss in the mustard seeds followed by the curry leaves. Once the leaves have stopped spluttering, reduce the heat and add the onions and ginger. Fry over a medium heat for about 10 mins until golden.
• Stir in the turmeric and chilli powder and cook for a few more secs. Tip in the tomatoes and sugar. Simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 mins until thickened, adding a splash of water if needed. Meanwhile, boil the eggs for 8 mins, then cool under cold running water before peeling and halving. Add to the curry and cover with a tight-fitting lid.
• To cook the pilau, heat the oil in a pan and cook the onions, ginger and chillies until softened - about 10 mins. Drain the rice and lentils and add to the onions along with the bay leaves.
• Pour over enough water to cover the rice and lentils by a depth of 3cm - about 600ml. Simmer, uncovered, until tender and the cooking liquid has been absorbed.
• Stir the coriander into the curry and fluff up the rice. Serve with mango chutney, yogurt and naan, if you like.

LENTIL PILAF

Steps:

• In a saucepan, brown shallot in oil. Add lentils and stir well. Add chicken stock and bay leaf. Bring to boil. Cover and let simmer at low heat about 45 minutes or until lentils are tender. Add more stock is needed. Drain if needed. Add salt and pepper at the end of cooking. Remove bay leaf.
• You'll need half this recipe to do the Vegetable Lentil Cream/Soup.

BULGUR & LENTIL PILAF

Steps:

• Rinse the lentils& put in a pot with enough broth to cover.
• Add bay leaf, bring to a boil& keep covered.
• Turn off heat& let stand for 30 minutes.
• While the lentils are soaking, melt margarine in a heavy pot.
• Add chopped onion, salt& pepper.
• Saute till onions are tender& transparent.
• When onions are ready, keep heat at medium, stir in bulgur& continue stirring till all the margarine is absorbed.
• Lower heat to a simmer& add the rest of the broth& lentils in their broth.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat again, cover tightly& simmer till all the liquid has been absorbed.
• Add more liquid till the bulgur& lentils are cooked.
• Remove bay leaf& serve.

RICE AND LENTIL PILAF - INDIAN STYLE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, bay leaf, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, chiles, and cloves and then cook for about a minute while stirring, until the spices become fragrant. Take the spices out of the pot and reserve. Turn the heat down to med-low and add the onion to the pan. Cook for approximately 10 minutes, stirring once and a while, and then take the pot off the heat and set aside.
• Rinse the rice in a colander. Once the rice is rinsed and drained, add it to the onion in the saucepan and put in the reserved spices and add the turmeric and cook over med-heat, stirring, for about 1 minute.
• Add in 1 1/2 C water and 1/2 t salt to the mixture and bring it all to a boil over high heat. Cover the pan with a paper towel and then the lid. Let this simmer this way, over low heat, for approx.20 minutes, or until all the liquid has been soaked up. Take the pan off of the heat and set aside, leaving it covered, for approximately 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the lentils, 2 C water and 1/2 t salt in a different saucepan and bring it to a boil over high heat. Then put a lif on it and simmer, over low heat. for approximately 25 minutes (until the lentils get tender).
• Now, heat the remaining 2 T vegetable oil, over medium heat, in a large nonstick skillet. Add in the potatoes and cook for approx 10 or 12 minutes, until the potatoes get a bit browned (stirring occasionally). Take the heat down to low and cook for about 5 minutes more. Then you can add the carrots to the potatoes and cook for 3 more minutes, or just until both are tender.
• Next, you can fluff the rice with a fork and take out the bay leaf, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves and chiles. Then drain your lentils and stir them into the rice along with the potato mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

INDIAN LENTIL PILAF

Steps:

• Bring lentils and 4 cups water to a boil in large pot or Dutch oven.
• Reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes, or until lentils are firm-tender.
• Drain, reserving 3/4 cup of the cooking water, and transfer lentils to a bowl.
• Wipe out the pot and heat the oil over medium high. Sauté the onion in the oil 4 minutes, or until just golden.
• Add carrots and rice and cook 3 minutes, or until rice is toasted and fragrant, stirring constantly.
• Add garlic, ginger and garam masala and cook 1 minute more.
• Stir in tomatoes, broth, reserved lentil water and lentils and bring to a boil.
• Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
• Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and cover, let stand 5 minutes.
• Fluff with a fork, then spoon pilaf into shallow bowls, and garnish with cilantro, if desired.
• Serve hot and enjoy.

LENTIL PILAF

Steps:

• Clean the lentils with fresh cold water to avoid foaming when cooking.
• Mix 2 cups of lentils with the 8 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt.
• Heat on high, uncovered for approximately 30 minutes, mixing slightly every 10 minutes, removing any foam that may have come up.
• After the lentils turn tender and soft (not melted), make sure there is only about 2 cups of water remaining (add or remove water).
• Add the half cup of rice. Cook for 10 mins at medium fire.
• Simultaneously with the rice, fry the chopped cup of onion in the olive oil and vegetable oil until golden brown (should be about 10 minutes).
• After the 10 minutes pass, slowly pour the oil and onion over the lentils and rice. Lower the heat to Low, and let it lay for 10 minutes (do NOT mix).
• After the 10 minutes pass, add the quarter cup of vinegar and mix everything.
• Cover with a thick clean kitchen towel and leave covered for about 10 minutes.
• After the 15 minutes pass, you should have a thick pilaf of lentils and rice, with onions showing up here and there.