Sweet Lentil Rice

Rice and lentils (“adas polo”) is a common Iranian dish cooked in very different styles around Iran, from tasting sweet to not sweet at all, from being a perfect vegetarian dish to one served with meat. I always try different styles, and recently I developed this recipe and loved it. The amount of dates and raisins I used gives it a sweetish taste without overwhelming the dish with sweetness. Plus the cinnamon touch in the end gives it a very nice and divine aroma. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Note: I tried to be as clear as I could while writing this recipe. I included all the small steps you need in making it. But I still recommend you read my recipe for making basic Iranian style rice (“polo”) before starting to make this lentil rice. The polo recipe gives you a more detailed idea of how to prepare the rice in this recipe too.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• Two thirds of a cup brown lentils
• 2 cups long grain basmati rice
• 1 medium sized chopped onion
• 2 medium sized diced carrots
• ½ cup raisins (rinsed)
• 6 dates (pit removed and chopped)
• 5 tablespoons chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 3 tablespoons oil

 

 Directions

1. Using a glass of water, boil the lentils till they are soft (not too soft though). Put the lentils aside.
2. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a pan and add the raisins and dates, stir over medium heat for 2 mins (be careful as raisins tend to burn quickly over heat), and remove from the pan.
3. Put the pan back on the stove, add the chopped onions, stir for 4-5 mins till they are translucent.
4. Add the carrots, walnuts, pepper, turmeric and a bit of salt, and stir for another 2-3 mins and remove the pan from heat.
5. Fill a nonstick pot with 6 cups of water, heat and bring to the boil. Add one teaspoon of salt and the rice.
6. Let it boil for 7-8 mins, stir a couple of times so the rice grains don’t stick together.
7. As soon as the rice is soft (not hard or mushy), drain it in a sieve.
8. Add the lentils to the rice in the sieve and mix.
9. Put the pot back on the heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil.
10. As soon as the oil becomes hot add the rice and other ingredients in this order: a layer of rice and lentils, a layer of carrots and onions, a layer of raisins and dates. Repeat the layering till all the ingredients are finished.
11. Use a spatula to shape the rice in the pot in the form of a cone.
12. Make a couple of holes in the rice with the end of your spatula.
13. Sprinkle cinnamon powder on the rice.
14. Put the lid on, it should cook over high heat for 3-4 mins until the pot gets all steamy inside.
15. Immediately turn the heat down to low.
16. Let the rice steam for 20-30 mins.
17. Serve with Shirazi salad (will soon update the blog with the recipe for this salad ;) ).