Reviewed: May 21, 2012

This needed a lot of salt to get the flavors to pop, but once they did the dish was really good! I am SO bad at making rice and lentils (in any combination), so I won't fault the recipe when I say that mine turned out really mushy. I've never had this dish before, but from the pictures it looks like the rice should have a little fluff left in it. Mine did not. It was almost the consistency of mashed potatoes (almost). Again, I think that's due to my own inadequacies rather than the portions in the recipe. Even with the consistency being a little off, I was satisfied at the end of the meal! I definitely think I'll make this again, and hopefully I'll be able to tinker with the portions so that is looks more like the photos and less like gruel! Oh, added whole cumin seeds and a pinch of cinnamon to the fried-onion process and I'm glad I did.

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Reviewer:

mycathatesme

Reviewed: May 3, 2012

Excellent simple, healthy dish! I followed the advice of others here and added a bit of cinnamon to my onions while they cooked, which was a great idea. I'd definitely recommend trying this out! It's cheap and easy!

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Reviewer:

wit21

Reviewed: Apr. 14, 2012

SO EASY!! I prepared the rice (brown rice) in my rice cooker WITH the lentils. It worked out perfectly. My 10-cup rice cooker held 4 cups of lentils and 3 cups of rice along with the water specified by the rice cooker. The cumin was too strong for my taste, and since I used only 3/4 tsp. per recipe, I will lower it to 1/4 tsp. per recipe. Added a little cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. allspice per recipe (2 tsp. for my cooker). Also left out salt (heard it toughens lentils) and added to taste later. Like my Syrian grandma, I served with plain (Greek) yogurt atop.

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Reviewer:

joy-of-jesus-smileymom

Home Town: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Reviewed: Mar. 23, 2012

I really like this. I had an alternate recipe that used cracked wheat instead of rice and I had lost it. I like using rice better as it is easier to sift rocks out of than cracked wheat! I made as directed and it was great. I also make it ahead for potluck and reheat in the oven. The rice/lentil mixture then gets a little bit of a crunchy crust, which some have shared that they really enjoy.

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~Melissa

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Red Wing, Minnesota, USA

Reviewed: Mar. 22, 2012

GARLIC POUDER AND AN EXTRA SPOUNE OF SALT

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adam kawache

Reviewed: Mar. 18, 2012

Super easy and delicious. I make this all the time. I'm often too lazy to cook the onions the way it says here, so I just toss them in the pot when the lentils and rice are almost done cooking.

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laureneve

Reviewed: Feb. 19, 2012

I made this hoping to mimic the lentils and rice from my favorite lebanese bakery. This was pretty close and was very good but seemed to be missing something. I read the reviews and did see the suggestion to add cinnamon and allspice. I did add a bit of cinnamon but I didn't have any allspice. I visited the lebanese bakery yesterday and mentioned that I had tried to make this but it was missing something. She just smiled so I knew she wasn't going to give up any secrets. I will try the allspice next time and maybe try replacing some water with vegitable broth. Also I diced the onions and mixed them through. Overall this was really good and I am so excited I can now make this for myself when I can't get out to buy it. Thanks for sharing and thanks for all the helpful reviews.

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Reviewer:

firefly

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Liberty Center, Ohio, USA

Reviewed: Jan. 29, 2012

Has become a mainstay. Good way to get protein when you are not in the mood for something as heavy as meat

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TartCherry

Reviewed: Jan. 16, 2012

My husband is from Lebanon and thinks he can cook better than me (German)! So to proof him wrong I cooked this today while he was at work. I also added allspice and cinnamon and 1 tbl Knorr Delikatess Brühe (vegetable broth granules) while lentils were cooking. I added rice and 1 fried chopped onion. I had to keep adding water to lentils and rice, about 2 cups, to get the right consistency. I didn't add the second tsp of salt, but added 7 spices my husband brought from Lebanon. And do add some sugar to caramelize onions. Overall I love this recipe, kids and husband did too!

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