Video Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmEMCuxkP20
Servings: 4
Lentil rice (or Adas Polow) is a traditional Iranian dish, that can be cooked with mixed ground meat, meat on the side, or as a vegetarian dish. I made my rice with some ground chicken, and also served it with some mini-meat balls on the top. For vegetarian/vegan option, simply skip the meat step and it will be as tasty!
It is common to use these as extra toppings to the rice before serving for extra sweet and nutty flavors: lightly fried golden raisins and/or pitted dates, toasted walnuts, and caramelized onions.
Ingredients:
2 cups rice (measured dry): soaked in water for few hours or overnight
1 1/2 cups lentils (measured dry): soaked in water for few hours or overnight
1/2 lb of ground meat (beef, chicken, turkey, etc.)
1 medium onion: diced
spices: turmeric, back pepper, nut meg, cumin, saffron, salt
Toppings (optional):
Fried raisins, toasted walnuts, mini-meat balls.
Prep Work:
Soak lentils in water for 4-5 hours or overnight. change the water few times. This is to speed up cooking and eliminate gas problems!
Soak rice in water for few hours to enhance the flavor, and speed up the cooking time. I add some salt to the water as well.
Begin cooking:
1. Drain the water after soaking. In a medium pot, add lentils and top off with water. There should be about an inch water above lentils. On a medium-high heat, let the mix simmer for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are softened, but still keep their shape. Drain lentils and set aside.
2. Bring about 4 cups of water to boil. Add the soaked rice to the boiling water (you can drain the rice before adding it to the boiling water, but not critical). Simmer on medium-high without a lid on. Foam should be forming on top of the boiling rice. Test few gains of rice to see if it is soft on the out side and firm on the center. Drain the rice when it's ready.
3. Optional Step for adding meat: In a pan add 2 tbs of vegetable oil, and diced onions. Fry onions until they become translucent. Then add ground meat (beef, chicken, lamb, turkey). Use a wooded or heat-proof spatula to break the meat into even sized pieces as it cooks. Add spices to the mixture. I added 1 tsp of ground cumin, 1 tsp of turmeric, and a pinch of nutmeg and black pepper. Also add salt to your taste. The spices depends on your taste. Set aside when the meat is well browned and cooked.
4.. add some oil to the bottom of the pot. Layer rice, lentil, and meat(optional) in the pot. sprinkle some oil in between layers for taste.
Cook on medium for 10 minutes, then reduce to medium-low and cook for another 20 minutes, until steam is formed in the pot.
5. Add some saffron to the rice 2 minutes prior to serving it and mix well. This is for extra aroma and color. You can steep the saffron it in a little bit of hot water. Grind a pinch of saffron. Then add about 2 tbs of hot water and set aside for few minutes, and up to 24 hours in the fridge.
Toppings:
I like to top off my lentil rice with some fried raisins and chopped toasted walnuts. For raisins add a table spoon of vegetable oil to the pan on medium heat, then add about 1/2 cup of golden raisins to the pan and lightly fry for 5 minutes, until they become firm and glow. Roast the walnuts in pan without any oil for 5 mins.
I also added mini meat balls for decoration and some extra meat.
Enjoy! :)
