Soaking time: none • Passive cooking time: 8 hours on low, 4 on high • Active cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup brown lentils
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 cup rice (I used short grain white rice)
5-6 cups water or homemade vegetable stock
Steps:
1. Measure the olive oil into the bottom of the crock pot, making sure to coat the bottom.
Turn the crock pot on the highest setting and add onions. Allow onions to warm up and get soft in the oil, approximately 10 - 15 minutes. 2. Add all remaining ingredients, including water or stock.
3. If leaving the crock pot going all day, turn to low and cook for 8 hours. If you want it done quicker, cook for 4 hours on high. Stir once an hour, if possible.
Notes: Start with 5 cups of water or stock. You can always add more if the recipe is too thick. This recipe called for 1 tsp of salt, which I would omit next time around since I used chicken stock (which is often salty).
I love crock pot recipes. There is just something about throwing a bunch of ingredients in a cylinder and then coming home to dinner when you get home from work. This is the first beans and rice recipe I've made in the crock pot and I will definitely be doing so again. It's so easy and creates a hearty dish for dinner or lunches. We served ours with some tortillas, but I think it would be great with pita bread or naan or similar leavened flatbread.
Historical context: Egyptian cuisine is a rich and varied blend of Mediterranean and Middle East flavors. Lentils are extremely popular in Egyptian dishes, and this dish is no exception. Egypt receives very little rainfall, and must depend on crops that can grow in desert like conditions, or in the Nile's flood plains. This recipe is similar to the Egyptian dish, Koushari, which contains lentils, rice, macaroni, and chickpeas in a tomato sauce. (I'm sure I will be trying that recipe out as well.)
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