No More Ramen — Lentils & Rice

One of the cheapest, easiest meals I know of; tastes pretty decent even with just salt and pepper, but can be wonderfully flavorful if you have the budget to invest in a few spices. (Lots of folks know this I’m sure, but in case you don’t: you can save a lot on seasonings at most Asian or Hispanic markets if there’s one near you, or if you shop at a big-box-type grocery, they probably have a sort-of-hidden little wall or stand [look around the produce] with spices that come in bags from a more generic brand instead of the expensive bottled ones you find in the main aisles.)

One pot, no chopping if you use only powdered seasonings. Makes about four hearty servings. Leftovers are great warmed up, but also taste pretty decent cold, in a pinch.

Essentials:

• 1 cup dried lentils (brown or green – I just get the store brand bag)
• 1 ½ cups rice (I use brown; white is fine but don’t get anything that cooks too quickly)
• 3 ½ cups water
• salt & pepper
• oil for frying, if using fresh onion/garlic
• a few tablespoons of olive oil (or melted butter, or some other type of oil/fat that you like the taste of – fat is really important here to bring out the flavors, to fill you up and to help digest all the fiber)

Optional seasonings – onion, garlic and broth/bullion are the basic easy ways to add flavor:

• 1 small white or yellow onion, or ½ a large one, diced (sub a couple teaspoons of onion powder if you don’t want to cut it up)
• A few cloves garlic, minced/pressed/grated (again, sub powder if you like)
• Vegetable broth or bullion cubes to sub for water – or chicken if you aren’t veg
• Paprika, especially good smoked
• Minced jalapeño, cayenne pepper, chili flakes or whatever other ways you like to add spice
• For a curry flavor – a couple teaspoons yellow curry powder, plus a few shakes of any warm spices you like such as ginger and cinnamon
• For a Tex-Mex-type flavor – a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon of chili powder, a teaspoon of oregano

Instructions:

Heat a little oil in a saucepan/pot (2.5 or 3 quarts is good) and cook your onions, stirring occasionally, until quite soft. If you like them caramelized, keep the heat on low and let them sit a little more until they start to brown.

Add your garlic when the onions are almost done and cook for a minute or two until you can smell it.

Add your other seasonings and let them fry a bit until they smell nice and strong too. (If you don’t have fresh onion and garlic, it’s still nice to cook the spices in oil before you add the water and everything; flavors are stronger that way.)

Add your water/broth. If you have white rice, add both the rice and lentils; bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 20-25 minutes. If you have brown rice, add that alone; bring to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes, then add the lentils and keep simmering for another 20-25 minutes.

Feel free to taste to see when the texture gets to your liking. The times above leave things slightly on the firm side, but you can always add another ¼ cup of water if it’s mostly boiled away and you think you’d like it softer.

Drizzle with more oil just before serving.