INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Clean and wash the lentils and boil them until tender. Mash and  strain
into a separate pot.  Add the rice, salt, and spices, and mix  well. In
a pan, saute the chopped onions in oil until golden. Add  them with the
frying oil to the lentils and rice.  Bring the mixture  to the boil
with enough water to cover and simmer over low heat for  about 10
minutes, until the rice is cooked, stirring regularly to  prevent
sticking.  Serve lukewarm or cold with radishes and spring  onions or a
cabbage salad.  That's the recipe straight from the book.  I make a
couple changes:  first of all, I'm a bit liberal with the cumin and
allspice - I don't  use measuring spoons, and I'm sure I get more than
the 1/4 or 1/2  teaspoon. Bhar, btw, is described by the book as "a
spice blend made  of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.  It is very similar
in flavor to  allspice, which may be substituted for it." I use brown
basmati rice,  so I have to boil it for more than 10 minutes; this
means I have to  keep adding water to it so it doesn't dry out.  I mean
to go back to the restaurant I first had this dish at and ask  them
what spices they use, since theirs is both spicier and darker  than
mine.  Food For The Vegetarian - Traditional Lebanese Recipes Posted
by:  bobp@msi.com (Bob Pitha)  From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster
collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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