Easy Vegetable Lentil Rice

Some days, you have so much going on. You just want to sit back, put your feet up and read your magazines or watch TV. And you don't want to worry about what to make for lunch or dinner. Hey - we are all hardworking moms ok! We need our ' Me Time' too!! This is what I make sometimes when I feel like that. ( lately, it seems most times!!)

What follows is a recipe for an easy nutritious dish - Vegetable Lentil Rice.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp any good quality veg oil
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1 tsp ginger garlic paste ( See Note)
2tsps curry powder
4 tbsps tomato sauce
1 medium potato, cubed
1 small carrot sliced
2 cups cauliflower florets, washed
1/3 cup green peas, washed
1.5 cups basmati rice, washed and soaked for 3o mins and then drained
1/2 cup lentil ( moong dhall), washed 
Coriander leaves for garnish.
Salt to taste

Method

Fry onion in a pot with veg oil for 2 mins and then add the ginger garlic paste. Sauté for 2 mins.

Add the curry powder and let it cook for another 2 mins. Add in the tomato sauce, salt and stir well.

The cleaned vegetables go in now. Let the whole mixture cook on medium heat for 5 mins.

When the 5 minutes is up, add the rice and lentils into the pot and give it a good stir.

Transfer this rice, lentils and vegetables to the rice cooker, then add in the water, per your usual proportions. ( Usually it is 1 cup Basmati rice to 2 cups water). I added 3.5 cups water because of the extra vegetables.

Check for salt before you switch on the rice cooker. Once the veg lentil rice is cooked, garnish with coriander leaves.

Can be served with yoghurt and cucumber (raita), with boiled eggs or with a spicy garbanzo curry ( ie if you are up to it!!)

Note :

Ginger Garlic paste is a blend of equal amounts of ginger and garlic. Can be stored in the fridge for weeks and used when necessary. Or you can make fresh batch everytime you cook.