Crispy Indian-ish Lentils with Rice & Yogurt
From: Ian Seddon's Cookbook
🥘 Ingredients
- brown ¾ cup
- Kosher
- uncooked long-grain white rice or cooked rice 3 cup
- black or brown mustard seeds 1 tsp
- cumin seeds 1 tsp
- coriander seeds 1 tsp
- neutral-flavored oil 3 tbsp
- medium shallot 1
- garlic cloves 4
- fresh ginger 1 ½ inch
- small serrano pepper 1
- ground turmeric ½ tsp
- Flaky
- good-quality plain coconut yogurt ½ cup
- freshly squeezed lemon juice 5-6 tsp
- organic cane sugar ¼ tsp
- ground cumin ½ tsp
- fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems ¾ cup
For mild heat, use 1 jalapeño pepper, remove the membranes and seeds (which is where the vast majority of the heat lives), and finely chop instead of thinly slicing into rounds. You can also use just 1/2 peppers. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle but have an electric spice grinder or coffee grinder, add the spices to the grinder and blitz once or twice to roughly crush them. Don’t have either tool? Add the spices to a ziploc bag, seal it, and use a rolling pin to roughly crush the spices. Storage: The yogurt sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 to 2 days, separate from the rice. The crispy lentils are best on day 1, but you can store leftover crispy lentils in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. To revive them, heat a frying pan with a drizzle of oil and add the lentils until warmed through and a bit crisp.
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1Gather: brown , Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, uncooked long-grain white rice or cooked rice , black or brown mustard seeds , cumin seeds , coriander seeds , neutral-flavored oil , medium shallot , garlic cloves , fresh ginger , small serrano pepper , ground turmeric , Flaky sea salt. For the for finishing:: good-quality plain coconut yogurt , freshly squeezed lemon juice , organic cane sugar , ground cumin , fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems .
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2Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add the lentils and 2 tsp kosher salt (1 tsp sea salt). Reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are al dente (tender but with a bite), 10 to 12 minutes (17 to 20 minutes for French green lentils); they should not be soft. Drain and shake to get rid of excess water.
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3Transfer the lentils to a large dish towel to dry. I like to gently run my hands through the lentils so they dry more quickly.
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4Meanwhile, cook the rice using your preferred method, or get out your leftover cooked rice.
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5Lightly crush the mustard, cumin, and coriander seeds in a mortar with a pestle or add to a spice grinder and pulse just once or twice (see Note 2).
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6Place a fine mesh strainer over a small/medium bowl and line a large plate with paper towels. Heat the oil in a medium/large skillet over medium heat. Once shimmering, add the shallots along with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and separating the shallot slices, until the edges are just turning golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the crushed spices, the garlic, ginger, serrano, and turmeric and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is golden and very aromatic, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture into the strainer; you’ll use the oil that drains into the bowl to broil the lentils. Transfer the aromatics to the towel-lined plate and sprinkle with a pinch or two of flaky salt.
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7While the lentils dry, make the yogurt sauce. (This can also be made 1 to 2 days in advance.) In a small/medium bowl, mix together the yogurt, 2-3 tsp lemon juice, sugar, and cumin. Season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper.
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8Arrange a rack on the second shelf below the broiler. Preheat the broiler on high for about 5 minutes . Transfer the lentils to a rimmed sheet pan, toss with the reserved oil from step 5(c), sprinkle with a pinch or two of kosher salt and black pepper, and shake the pan back and forth to spread the lentils out into an even layer, using your hands to smooth out any clumps.
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9Broil the lentils for 4 minutes . Toss with a spatula or shake the pan back and forth to evenly redistribute them. Broil for 2 minutes and shake the pan again. If they’re nicely crispy, they’re done. If they’re starting to crisp up, broil for 1 minute, then check and broil in 1-minute increments as needed. If they haven’t started to crisp up yet, broil for 2 minutes, then check.
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10Transfer the crispy lentils to a serving bowl and toss with the reserved fried aromatics, cilantro, and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Season to taste with flaky salt. Serve the lentils on top of rice and drizzle yogurt sauce on top.