Lentil stew and rice
By sharing this recipe, I am thanking a long-time 98-year-old patient of mine who gave me a wonderful cookbook.
She's a friend who programmed all the VCR remotes for everyone when we still had VCRs. She's a friend who writes poetry and emails it cards and notepaper she designed herself. She's the friend who drives to the Napa Valley, shops at a Fair Trade retailer, and gives the gift of The World of Street Food.
So, in honor of her, I offer the first recipe in the book, lentil wat (stew) from Ethiopia. Thank you, Mrs. T.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 cup lentils
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large or two small onions, diced
- 3 large cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon chili powder (you can add more to taste at the end as I did)
- 3 cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 heaping teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions
- Cover the lentils with water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, skim off the froth then simmer, covered for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are just tender. If the water is not all absorbed, drain off the excess.
- In another saucepan, heat the oil over medium high heat then add the onions.
- Saute until they start to soften then add the garlic.
- Cook another couple of minutes.
- Stir in the chili powder, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Add a little water if needed if the mixture seems to clump up.
- Add the lentils and cook over low heat for another five minutes or so.
- Stir in the cilantro.
- Adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and chili powder.
- Spoon over a serving of rice, mix it all together, and enjoy flavors from around the world.