Brown Lentil Rice (Imjudara)

Imjudara is one of the simplest meals you can make. My dad would always say that this is a "poor man's dish", but the flavours here are anything but lacking! At home, this meal would always be served with plain Balkan style yogurt or a tomato-cucumber salad, or both!

• 1 1/2 cups green or brown lentils
• 1 1/2 cups rice
• 6 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 clove garlic (optional)

For the garnish,

• 2-3 large onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• plain Balkan style yogurt

For the salad, mix:

• 3 large tomatoes, diced
• 1 english cucumber, diced
• 1 large avocado (optional)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• pinch of salt

In a medium sized pot, bring the lentils, water and salt to a boil for approximately 10 minutes. Add the rice, cumin and mashed garlic and bring to a boil again. Reduce to low heat for about 30 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked. In the meantime, fry the onions with the oil on medium heat until they're caramelized a dark brown, approximately 30 minutes. Serve the imjudara with the caramelized onions on top, and a spoonful (or two!) of the plain yogurt. If you're making the salad, just mix all ingredients together and serve with the imjudara.

Serves 4-6.