Middle Eastern Deliciousness

I all ready mentioned how I came into possession of this book and how a more than handful of recipes from this book are utterly fantastic. I neglected to say that the only other positive thing to come from that class was meeting my good friend GG. The past few recipes she hasn't been able to make because some of the ingredients aren't available in Montevideo. I hope that you can make this though. It's perfect for a cold night. I love the combination of heartiness from the rice and lentils, sweetness from the onions and tanginess from the yogurt. It's one of those dishes that is perfectly balanced. We upped the amount of onions in ours because they're our favorite part. There is such a thing as too much though, I think 1 lb or even a little more is good, but not too much more than that. This is really meant to be a side dish but we have it dinner. A green salad would be nice to get in some veggies.

Megaderra, adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden

3 TB olive oil
1 lb onions, sliced
2 pinches ground coriander
2 pinches ground cumin
1 1/4 cups whole brown lentils
1 1/4 cups long-grain rice
Plain yogurt
Good quality olive oil

Heat 3 TB olive oil in a large skillet with a lid. When hot, add onions. Stir to coat onions in oil then turn heat down low. Cover and let cook for 20 minutes; stir occasionally.

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a pot. Add coriander, cumin and lentils. Return to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer. Cover and let cook for 20 minutes, or until lentils are about halfway done.

Add rice to lentils. Salt and pepper. Stir to combine and cover. Cook for about another twenty minutes or until both lentils and rice are tender.

Remove lid from onions and and turn heat to medium. Cook off all water and turn heat up to medium-high. Stir often until onions are a deep brown. This will probably take about twenty minutes.

Once everything is done, you can serve this two ways. Combine all components together or leave them separate, which is more attractive. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and a drizzle of the good oil on top. Mmmm.