How To Cook PERFECT FLUFFY LENTIL & RICE WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS

On today's menu is a delicious lentil and rice recipe with crispy caramelized onions .

In this video , I will show you step by step how to cook the rice so that it remains nice and fluffy with each green .

Stay separate how to caramelize onions .

They taste sweet and get this gorgeous golden brown color along with a cool cucumber yogurt sauce that goes wonderfully well with this .

No and welcome to curries with and today it is all about rice and lentils and onions .

The very first thing we need to do is to soak the lentils .

We need whole brown lentils , also known as Sabu Masur or Malka Masur in Hindi .

Check for any stones or other particles as sometimes there are some stray strangers in them , rinse them and then soak them in boiling hot water for about 2 to 3 hours or in cold water .

If you soak them overnight .

Next , coming to the rice , I always love using long grain pars rice for these kind of recipes .

And when it comes to cooking any rice rinsing them is a very important step which you must always follow rinse and change the water several times till the water runs clear .

In this way , you will get rid of that surface starch , resulting in your rice , turning fluffy and preventing them from sticking to each other , soak the rice for 30 minutes .

And I would recommend using a timer for this next coming to the veggies .

Now you can leave out the veggies , but I will highly recommend adding them as they bring in such a contrast to this dish and make it look pretty thinly slice the onions trying your best to slice them all with equal thickness because in that way , they will brown up altogether .

Or else the thinner slices will brown quickly while the thicker ones will take a longer time .

And by the time the thicker ones brown up , the thinner ones will burn and turn bitter and your dish will taste bitter and so on .

My 30 minutes timer has gone off .

So I will drain all the water from the rice guys .

You need to drain all that water or else it will be hard to decide the amount of water required while cooking and your rice will become mushy and sticky .

Next , it's time to also drain the water from the lentils .

OK .

Let's start cooking .

Now use a wide heavy bottomed pan or pot for this recipe .

Please do not use a small pot as the rice won't get space to expand .

It's always so amazing how a small quantity of rice can expand so much .

I used olive oil .

But you can use any oil of your choice so much of oil you must be thinking but guys with this quantity of rice and lentils taken , this is the right amount .

The last thing you want is a rice turning dry .

OK ?

Add the onions before the oil turns hot .

Please remember all these tips and you will never be disappointed .

I promise .

Add a Sprinkle of salt and fry the onions on medium high heat to start with , spread it out like this .

Then again , stir now and then when you start seeing them developing brown color along the edges , reduce the heat of your stove to medium low and stir them frequently .

When you see the color darkening up , you need to continuously stir them to get that even browning all happening together .

You cannot leave the onions at this point and let me tell you how much time it took me to get to this point .

But guys before that , hold on tight on to anything that is near you .

Ok .

Ready .

It took me 25 minutes to reach this beautiful color .

Got an onion shock .

Huh ?

I can visualize your reaction now .

But believe me guys , this is the onion reality .

Now .

Switch off the heat of your stove and take them out , squeezing out as much oil as you can take out just half of the quantity of onions leaving the rest in the pan , put them on a paper towel .

And with the help of your spatula , try to spread them out as much as possible so that they turn crispy and you have to do this quickly so that the rest of the onions which are waiting in the pan do not become over brown from that residual heat and see how they have become beautifully caramelized .

Ok .

Back to the pan heat back on medium and the carrots sent to the scene , followed by finely chopped ginger and finely chopped garlic .

Stir them for 2 to 3 minutes .

Next heat low as possible as the spices are next in line , Kashmiri red chili powder or you can even use paprika instead .

Then ground coriander and ground cumin brief stir for a second .

Then in goes the tomato paste , you can even use one fresh tomato .

But in that case , stir the tomato till it turns mushy and gets well fried , stir the tomato paste for a few seconds and then add the drained lentils , mix with the medium heat and then add five cups of hot water when the water comes up to a boil cover on medium low heat for about 10 minutes .

In the meantime , I will fry the green beans .

Now you can add the beans along with the carrots , but in that way , they become mushy , they lose their color and I personally dislike that very much .

I love those natural colors in my food and I feel sad if they look sad , I Sprinkle some salt and fried them on medium heat , cover them on medium heat for a few minutes after a few minutes .

Feel that was a good green bean bar for my lenses .

They have turned tender but they still have that little bit of crunch on them .

Always taste one to check when it comes to cooking your eyes .

Nose and tongue are the best indicators to tell you that the food is done .

My beans are done and we'll be waiting now coming to the lentils , they shouldn't be fully cooked .

They should still be chewy with the outside starting to turn soft .

So again , taste it .

If you feel they are too chewy .

Give them some more minutes at this point .

Add about a tablespoon of salt , add only half a tablespoon at first taste the water .

You should be able to taste that salt .

If it tastes bland , add half a tablespoon more of salt , then add the rice and keep it on medium high heat .

You will soon see the rice expanding and the water decreasing , stir occasionally very gently and with a lot of love .

Now you can see the liquid has decreased considerably .

Add car masala powder and cover on very low heat for 15 minutes .

The lid of my pan has this hole .

So I plugged it with a little bit of aluminum foil so that the steam doesn't escape while my rice is getting cooked .

Let's make the cucumber yogurt sauce very easy bowl out .

Four heaped tablespoons of plain unflavored yogurt goes in whisk it to a smooth consistency .

Then freshly ground black pepper , salt a little bit of sugar and then chopped cucumber and parsley .

Or you can even use coriander mix well .

And your cool refreshing cucumber sauce is all done .

15 minutes done .

Lid off very gently loosen up the rise again .

Do a taste test to check whether the rice is tender or not .

And if you see no water at the bottom of the pot , then your rice is all done .

If you still see some water in the bottom , then please give it five more minutes for me .

I have switched off the heat as my rice is done and Sprinkle some mint leaves .

If you do not like the flavor of mint , leave it out .

Then green chilies which are totally optional , generous amount of coriander leaves or you can even add parsley , Sprinkle the fresh lemon juice and then this is totally optional .

But I just couldn't resist my temptation from adding just a teaspoon of key .

Give a gentle mix , then lid back on off the stove and let it sit for a minimum of 15 minutes .

The more it sits the fluffier the rice gets , I usually make it way ahead of time and then warm it up before serving and look at that beauty .

Each grain of rice is separate and so fluffy , the lentils are maintaining their shape as well and has boom eaten up all those fried green beans and onions .

Nope , they will be showered on top along with the coriander leaves .

The sweetness from those caramelized onions is such a satisfaction .

And so rewarding for the time it took to bring out that sweetness guys .

I can guarantee you that you will be really proud of yourself .

If you make this recipe just the way I showed you , please do not forget to smash that like button and I will see you next time .

Bye bye .