Cypriot Recipes

Lentils and Rice (mougendra)

The lentil (Lens culinaris) is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about 40 cm (16 in) tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each.

Lentils have been part of the human diet since aceramic (before pottery) Neolithic times, being one of the first crops domesticated in the Near East. Archeological evidence shows they were eaten 9,500 to 13,000 years ago.

Lentil colors range from yellow to red-orange to green, brown and black. Lentils also vary in size, and are sold in many forms, with or without the skins, whole or split.

Ingredients

1 cup lentils (best dried green ones)

4 cups water

1/2 cup rice

1 onion, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

salt

Preparation

–     Wash the lentils well.

–     Place in a saucepan with water and leave to cook, removing the scum from time to time with a slotted spoon.

–     When nearly cooked add the rice and continue to simmer until rice is cooked and all the water is at the same time absorbed. (If water has been absorbed before rice is cooked, add some more water).

–     Fry the onion in the olive oil until golden brown and add to the cooked lentils.

–      Add salt and serve.

Source: moa.gov.cy