This recipe for Middle Eastern flavoured Lentils & Rice made in the Instant Pot is great but I know you could make it in a regular pot if you don’t have an Instant Pot! But if you do… this is quick & delicious
If you have not really tried this Lentil & Rice dish you should give it a try. The flavour is very distinct… the spices are cumin…cinnamon ..allspice..This can be eaten with or without plain yogurt. It is a good vegetarian dish or it is vegan without the yogurt but I would try a coconut yogurt if I was vegan!
The recipe is from COMFORT IN AN INSTANT by MELISSA CLARK. I tried to find this recipe online to give you a link to it, but I could not find it…if you look & find it let me know! Then I will add the link. The book is available on Amazon & when I looked through it there seemed to be so many good recipes in there. I would recommend buying it actually…
( I am an Amazon associate so if you purchase this book I might get a small compensation (
Here is the recipe…. I only omitted a bay leaf & didn’t put as much cayenne in as the recipe called for.
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
3 large leeks, white & light green parts only
kosher salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or less if you don’t want this ‘hot’
1 cup green or brown lentils
2 3/4 cup water
2 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
3/4 cup long grain rice… I used basmati
5 ounces of baby spinach which was 4 cups when I weighed it out
plain yogurt for serving… 1 cup
Method
- Prepare your ingredients… thinly slice the leeks, get the garlic & the spices ready;
- IF you have to rinse your rice do so when the vegetables are sautéing
- Use the saute function on your Instant Pot… heat the oil.
- Put the leeks in the hot oil & sauté until they are golden brown at the edges… recipe says for about 10 min,,,stir often
- When the leeks are finished, take out about half of them & set aside. You will serve these on top of the rice
- Put the minced garlic in the pot & cook until it becomes fragrant
- Add the cumin, allspice & cayenne pepper, stir & cook for about 30 seconds
- Add the lentils to the pot, stir
- Add the water, salt, bay leaf & cinnamon stick ..give it a stir
- Lock the lid to the Instant Pot in place. Make sure the valve is in the sealed position.
- Cook on High Pressure for 1 minute. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes then manually release the pressure that remains.
- Uncover the pot & stir in the rice
- Put the lid back on, lock it in place & cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes
- Manually release the pressure when the 8 minutes is up
- Now, uncover the pot & stir the spinach in
- Cover the pot with out locking the lid in place… let it sit for about 10 minutes… the spinach will wilt & the rice will finish cooking
- When the time is up, give it a stir
- Season with salt & pepper to taste
- Serve with the reserved cooked leeks & yogurt if using
Enjoy!












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