Description
A comforting and flavorful dish combining basmati rice, red lentils, and coconut milk, seasoned with aromatic spices and baked to perfection.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 cup red lentils
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (canola oil etc.)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 13 ounces can of coconut milk
- 1 medium sweet potato (diced small)
- 1 medium orange bell pepper (diced)
- chopped cilantro and lime wedges (for serving)
- 1/3 cup raw unsalted cashews (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a fine mesh sieve, rinse the rice well until the water runs clear. Rinse and sort the lentils, removing any stones or broken lentils as needed.
- Drizzle oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the curry powder, garam masala, cumin, coriander, ginger, and cinnamon. Toast, stirring frequently, for just 30 seconds to bloom the spices.
- Add the salt, vegetable broth, and coconut milk. Whisk to combine. Bring to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat.
- Meanwhile, to a 9×13-inch baking dish add the rinsed lentils and rice, along with diced sweet potato and bell pepper.
- Carefully pour the simmering broth into the baking dish. Stir to combine with the rice and lentils.
- Cover tightly with foil or an upside-down sheet pan and transfer to the middle oven rack. Bake at 375°F for 25-30 minutes, checking the rice and lentils for doneness. If the lentils aren’t done at 25 minutes (they should be almost completely dissolved), return the lid and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the lid and sprinkle with cashews, if using. Return to the oven to toast the cashews and evaporate any extra liquid, about 5 minutes. If the liquid is fully evaporated at this point and you aren’t adding cashews, skip this step.
- Remove from the oven and serve garnished with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.
Notes
- Note #1: Soaking the basmati rice for 30 minutes before rinsing can help decrease cooking time.
- Note #2: Make sure to rinse the lentils to remove any impurities.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 600mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 51g
- Fiber: 10g
- Protein: 12g
- Cholesterol: 0mg