Kusherie

I've already had a few people on Facebook ask me what this is and then for the recipe... So instead of waiting any longer, here it is! ;)

This is from More-with-Less... Kusherie is an Egyptian meal that has rice and lentils in it.. Ok, that's pretty much all that's in it! ;) It may look a little bit hard, but it's not. It's pretty easy!

There is a note next to the recipe that says that in Egypt plain yogurt is served as a side dish.
(I didn't do that part of it...)


Left over lentils from the previous post...


Lentils and rice all cooked


This is the sauce with everything in it...


The onions browning for the topping


Layer the cooked rice and lentils on a platter


Then layer the sauce on top then the onions on top of the sauce


Here it is all mixed up, super yummy!!! :oP



Kusherie (Egyptian Rice and Lentils)

Rice and Lentils:
Heat in heavy saucepan or covered skillet:
2 tablespoons oil
Add:
1 1/4 cup lentils

Brown lentils over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add:
3 cups boiling water or stock
1 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper

Cook uncovered 10 minutes over medium heat

Stir in:
1 1/2 cups rice
1 cup boiling water

Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 25 minutes without stirring.

Sauce:
In a sauce pan, heat together:

3/4 cup tomato paste
3 cups tomato juice, tomato sauce, or pureed tomatoes
1 green pepper, chopped
chopped celery leaves
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or crushed red chili's to taste
Bring sauce to a boiling, reduce heat, and simmer 20-30 minutes.

Browned onions:
Heat in a small skillet
2 tablespoons onions
Saute over medium heat until brown:
3 onions, sliced
4 gloves garlic, minced

To serve, put rice-lentil mixture on a platter. Pour tomato sauce over. Top with browned onions.

*Again, a few things I did differently.
I used the lentils from the last recipe, so they had already been cooked for 20 minutes...
I used boiling water
For the sauce:
I also used 1 can of tomato paste
I used tomato sauce
I used a heaping teaspoon of cumin
I just sprinkled crushed red chili's
For the browned onions:
I used 1 onion and diced it
I also used 2 cloves of garlic and just diced it really small

While I was stirring the lentils, I put the water in the microwave to bring to boil.
While the 3 cups water and lentils were cooking for 10 minutes, I mixed up the sauce.
So that way when the rice and lentils were done, the sauce was done too.
Super good and super easy! :)

Skillet Beef With Lentils

This was very good! I am really lovin the More-with-Less cookbook!!! Super easy and super good, and super healthy! ;) (sorry about all the "supers" in that sentence! ;))

The kiddos gobbled this one down as well. I fixed this with acorn and butternut squash, just to make the plate look a little bit more colorful!



Cooking the lentils in water

Frying up some onions and garlic


Added the browned hamburger (this isn't a full pound of it, but I NEVER use the full amount of meat, I always cut back a bit!)


Add the "broth"


This is how I saved my lentil water. I used the Pampered Chef strainer and bowl set. First time I've used it like this! I always use the bowls of the strainers, but never together! But you can do it however you want, as long as you save the water! :)


The somewhat cooked lentils!


Now I added the spices to the water, beef, and onions


Then I added the lentils... ;)


It's all cooked! Stir it up a bit....


And there ya go!!! :)


Here's the acorn and butternut squash cooked! I probably should've put the acorn squash in another pan, but oh well! ;) (I cut the squash in half, took the seed out, put them in the pan, put about a cup of water in the bottom of the pan, covered it with foil and cooked at 350d for 3 hours. It was done, so I just put the oven down to 200d, depending on how big your squash is, it may take longer. One more hint, I just put one little cut down the middle of the squash and pop it in the microwave for a a minute or two and I can cut it much easier! Makes the skin a bit softer!)


I know, not too yummy looking, but it is really good!


Here is our supper! The lentils and both squashes!



Skillet Beef with Lentils


Bring 1 quart water to boil in saucepan.
Add:
1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed
Cook 20 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid.

In deep skillet saute:
2 tablespoons margarine of butter
2 medium onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

Stir in:
1 pound ground beef

Brown well. Dissolve in 2 1/3 cups reserved liquid
2 beef bouillon cubes

Add liquid to meat mixture, cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Stir in:
reserved lentils
2 tablespoons long-grain rice
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 30 minutes, or until lentils and rice are tender and liquid is absorbed (add more if necessary). Check seasonings and stir in:
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Top with parsley (dried or fresh)

*A few things I did a bit differently, go figure huh? ;)
I only used about half of the lentil, I wasn't sure how it was going to taste... I wanted to make sure the kids were going to eat it! ;) (I saved the lentils for a recipe I used the next nite!)
I used coconut oil instead of the butter or margarine
I used one onion and 2 gloves of garlic (I also chopped the garlic instead of mincing it)
I didn't use the beef bouillon
I also used 4 tablespoon rice
I also forgot to add the cider vinegar at the end (opps)
I also used the same pot for cooking it all in. My cast iron skillet doesn't have a lid, so I just cooked the lentils, then put them to the side to drain and then did everything else in that pot! (One less pot to add to the dishwasher! ;))