Lentils with herbs stew

June 20, 2020  •  Category: ,

This lentil dish is made using a combination of techniques and flavors from the Lebanese, Syrian and Iranian kitchens. I had a bag of ghormeh sabzi mix in my pantry and used it; I had leftover pomegranate molasses and used it; I had some rice and used it. I used fresh garlic, cilantro, and lots of onions, caramelized slowly beforehand. All of this using a generous amount of good olive oil. So this is a combo of mujadarah (Lebanon), harrak esba3o (Syria), and ghormeh sabzi (Iran). The result was outstanding.


Lentils with herbs stew

Joumana Accad Mediterranean, Middle Eastern June 20, 2020 Main Dish, Soups, lebanesefood, tagged, syrianfood, ghormehsabzi, iranianfood, vegan,

8-12 servings

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

3 cups green lentils (can substitute brown lentils)

4 cups yellow onions, chopped 

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup garlic cloves (about 1 1/2 heads of garlic), mashed with salt (can use less if you are not a fan!)

1 1/2 bunch cilantro leaves chopped 

1/4 cup pomegranate molasses (more or less, to taste) 

1 1/2 cup ghormeh sabzi dry mix (parsley,dill, leek, fenugreek)

1 cup of rice (preferably medium-grain, or Egyptian or sushi rice)

1 pita bread, cut into squares and fried or baked (optional)

1 cup pomegranate seeds, for garnish (optional)

 

 

Instructions

1. Boil the lentils in water (fill the pot with water) until tender, about 40 minutes. Set aside. 

2. Brown the onions in the olive oil and transfer the onions to the lentil pot. Fry the garlic and cilantro till the fragrance comes out. Add the ghormeh sabzi mix (if using) and fry for a couple of seconds; add the lentils, browned onions and rice; add extra water if it looks like you need some for the rice to cook in. Pour the pomegranate molasses, mix a bit, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. 

3. Uncover, cool a bit, taste and adjust seasonings. Add more pomegranate molasses or some lemon or lime juice, some more garlic, pepper, or whatever your taste buds dictate. Serve with croutons if desired and a sprinkling of pomegranate arils, at room temperature.

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe Notes

The bread croutons can be fried or baked. They add a nice crunchy touch to the dish. Raw pomegranate arils are also a nice touch with a sprinkling of cilantro or any other herb used here. The ghormeh sabzi is my idea, and can be omitted. It makes the dish taste more herby. 

You can also substitute lemon or lime juice for the pomegranate molasses, adding extra quartered limes when serving. 

 



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Comments

2 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Eve Bark says:

    Sounds heavenly… but could you taste the lentil?!

  2. Joumana Accad says:

    @Eve Bark I could! But if you prefer lentil taste only you can skip adding all the herbs.

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