It is known that Lebanese and the Middle Eastern cuisines in general use lentils in many of their recipes. Variations of soups, salads, and dips can be made with this wonder food. My personal favorite is the Lentil soup (flat greenish one) with added pasta to make it a full meal that is healthy, light, and extremely tasty. All members of the family will love it.
For this recipe you will need:
2 cups lentils/ the flat greenish kind picked and washed
1 onion finely chopped
Water (try to fill the pot to 3 quarters, you might need to add more later on)
3/4 cup small pasta, here I used Conchigliette a small shell like pasta
3 Chicken stock cubes (this will replace salt)
1 TBS ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp 7 spices
1 lemon squeezed on the side to add optionally to individual bowls
Instructions
As a first step boil the lentils and combine with the onions, wait until lentils are soft. The good thing about this specific type of lentils is that it cooks quickly. Add the spices, the chicken cubes, and the pasta which will need around 8 minutes to cook. You might need to increase hot water since the pasta will be absorbing a large amount. Make sure the water you add is already hot, in case there are any undone lentils, cold water will halt their cooking.
Stir and taste, you might want to add some salt according to taste. Serve in individual bowls hot, you can a dash of squeezed lemon depending on preference.
The lemon will serve as a flavor booster and a source of vitamin C that will further aid the absorption of iron in the lentils.
Enjoy !!
