Red Lentil and Spinach Dal with Cumin Rice

Ingredients

• 🍚Brown Rice, rinsed1 cup
• 💧Water, for rice and dalas needed
• 🧂Cumin Seeds, divided2 tsp
• 🫘Red Lentils, rinsed1 cup
• 🧅Yellow Onion, finely diced1 onion
• 🧄Garlic, minced3 clove
• 🫚Ginger (ground)1 tsp
• 🧂Turmeric1 tsp
• 🧂Coriander (ground)1 tsp
• 🧂Garam Masala, divided1 tsp
• 🥫Tomato Paste2 tbsp
• 🥫Crushed Tomatoes1 cup
• 🧂Vegetable Bouillon Powder1 tsp
• 🥬Baby Spinach, loosely packed4 cup
• 🧊Lemon Juice1 tbsp
• 🧈Salted Butter2 tbsp
• 🧂Table Saltto taste
• 🧂Black Pepper (ground)to taste
• 💧Water, for rice and dal, plus more as needed3 cup
• 🫒Cooking Oil, olive or vegetableas needed

Contains Celery, Dairy, Garlic, Gluten, Onion. AI-generated, checked against common allergens; always check labels.

Method

1. 1

   Rinse the rice

   Tip the Brown Rice into a fine mesh sieve and rinse it under cool Water, tossing it with your fingers for about 30 seconds until the runoff turns from cloudy white to almost clear. If the water stays milky, keep going a little longer — that extra starch is what makes rice stick together instead of staying fluffy.

   1 min
2. 2

   Chop the onion

   Peel the Yellow Onion, halve it through the root, and cut it into a fine dice on a chopping board so it cooks quickly and melts into the dal. Aim for small, even pieces about the size of split lentils; if a few bits are larger, slice them down now so they do not stay crunchy later.

   3 min
3. 3

   Mince the garlic

   Peel the Garlic Cloves and mince them finely on the chopping board until they are in tiny, damp fragments that will disappear into the spice base. If any pieces are chunky, chop them again — big garlic bits can scorch before the onion has softened.

   2 min
4. 4

   Toast the cumin

   Set a medium saucepan over medium heat and add half of the Cumin Seeds. Shake and stir the saucepan gently for about 45 seconds until the seeds smell nutty and take on a shade darker, then tip them out into a small bowl if they start to jump too quickly. If they smoke, lift the saucepan off the heat for a few seconds so they do not turn bitter.

   1 min
5. 5

   Start the rice

   Add the rinsed Brown Rice and the Water to the same medium saucepan, bring it up over high heat to a lively boil, then turn the heat down to low, cover the saucepan, and let it cook for about 25 minutes until the grains are tender and the surface is dotted with small steam holes. If the pot sounds dry before the rice is done, add a small splash of Water and clamp the lid back on right away.

   25 min
6. 6

   Soften the onion

   Pour the Oil into a clean medium saucepan and add the diced Yellow Onion with a pinch of Table Salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring often for about 5 minutes, until the pieces turn soft, glossy, and pale gold at the edges; if they start browning too fast, lower the heat and stir more often. Keep the pieces moving so they sweat rather than catch.

   5 min
7. 7

   Bloom the spices

   Stir the Garlic Cloves, Ginger (ground), Turmeric, Coriander (ground), and the remaining Cumin Seeds into the onion and cook over medium heat for about 1 minute, stirring constantly so the spices coat the onion instead of sticking to the base. You want the mixture fragrant and sandy-looking, with the raw edge gone but no dark spots; if it dries out, splash in a spoonful of Water and keep moving it.

   1 min
8. 8

   Cook the lentils

   Add the Red Lentils, Tomato Paste, Crushed Tomatoes, Vegetable Bouillon Powder, and Water to the saucepan and stir well to scrape up any spice stuck to the base. Bring the mixture to a lively bubble over medium-high heat, then lower to medium-low and simmer for about 12 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils are soft and the sauce looks thick and creamy rather than watery. If the base starts to catch, add a splash more Water and scrape gently so nothing burns.

   12 min
9. 9

   Wilt the spinach

   Fold the Baby Spinach into the simmering dal in handfuls, stirring after each addition over low heat for about 2 minutes until the leaves collapse into dark green ribbons and disappear into the sauce. If the pan looks too full at first, wait a few seconds for the spinach to slump before adding more so it does not spill over the rim.

   2 min
10. 10

    Finish the dal

    Turn off the heat, stir in the Garam Masala, Lemon Juice, Salted Butter, and Black Pepper, then let the saucepan sit for about 1 minute so the butter melts and the spices perfume the surface without boiling away. Taste a spoonful only if you need to check the balance, and if it feels flat, add a little more Table Salt or Lemon Juice until the flavour tastes round and bright. The finished dal should look glossy and smell warmly spiced, not oily.

    1 min
11. 11

    Plate the rice

    Fluff the Brown Rice with a fork, then spoon it into bowls and ladle the dal over the top so the sauce pools into the grains instead of sitting beside them. Serve right away while the rice is steamy and the dal is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon; if it has tightened in the saucepan, stir in a splash of Water and warm it for a moment first.

    1 min

Nutrition per serving