Ingredients

The following ingredients have 6 Servings
  • 3½ cups water
  • ¾ cup dry brown basmati rice
  • ¾ cup dry red lentils (see notes)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom seed
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground clove
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (10 ounces, 2 cups)
  • ½ tablespoon minced garlic (2 large cloves)
  • 1 teaspoon freshly minced ginger
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 medium Yukon gold potato, diced into small cubes (8 ounces, about 1-¼ cups)
  • 1 medium yam, diced into small cubes (8 ounces, about 1-½ cups)
  • 2 large ribs celery, diced (about 1 cup)
  • 1-¼ cup green peas (thaw first if frozen)
  • 4 cups roughly chopped curly kale (about 3 large leaves)
  • 2 tablespoons walnuts to grate on top (optional)

Instruction

  • In a large soup pot, stir together the water, rice, lentils, and spices (cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, turmeric, cardamom, clove). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 45 minutes. While the rice and lentils are cooking, chop and prepare the remaining ingredients.
  • About 15 minutes before the rice and lentils are done cooking, place a large skillet or saucepan on high heat with 2 tablespoons of water. Once the water starts sizzling, add the chopped onion and sauté for 3 minutes (adding water as needed to prevent sticking). Add the garlic and ginger, and sauté for another 2 minutes, taking care not to burn the garlic, adding water as needed.
  • Add to the onions, garlic and ginger: 3 cups water, potato, yams, and celery, and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook covered for 7 minutes. Stir in the peas and kale and cook an additional 3 minutes (still covered). (The potatoes should now be tender.)
  • Add the onion-potato mixture to the pot of rice and lentils and stir well. Serve immediately as is or with a dusting of grated walnuts on top. <br> <br> <strong>Chef’s Notes:</strong> <br> <br> Red lentils in their dry form come in a range of colors, from gold to orange to rosy red. They can be found in most healthy groceries as well as Middle Eastern markets labeled as masoor (red lentils). <br> <br> If you don’t want to bother with the individual dried herbs and spices (cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, turmeric, cardamom, clove), you may replace them with 2 to 3 teaspoons of your favorite curry powder. <br> <br> If you’re not in the chopping mood, you can also make a meal of just the lentils, rice, and herbs and spices after cooking them together in step 1. <br> <br> To add a little more heat, add a half to one teaspoon more red pepper flakes.