Cheat Curried Rice & Lentil Pilaf & Bertolli Olive Oil Giveaway Winner

Cheat Curry Lentil & Rice Pilaf

What you’ll need for 2 to 3 servings:-

• Olive oil (or your preferred cooking oil)
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled & finely chopped
• ½ green chilli, deseeded & finely chopped
• 2 tsps of Madras Curry Spice Mix (adjust to taste)
• 2 cups of cooked rice (leftover rice would be perfect for this dish)
• 1 x 400g can lentils, rinsed & drained
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed in hot water & drained
• A handful of baby spinach
• Salt and pepper to taste
• For garnish *optional* – toasted almond flakes and chopped fresh coriander leaves

Method:-

Add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large frying pan. When the oil is hot, add garlic and green chilli and sauté until they just become aromatic over low-medium flame. Add curry spice mix and sauté over low heat until aromatic – add more oil if the mixture appears to be dry and start to stick to the pan.  Add cooked rice and lentils, sauté until well combined with the spice mixture.  Add peas and cook until the rice and lentils are very well heated through and peas are softened. Stir in a handful of baby spinach until slightly wilted.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with toasted almond flakes and chopped fresh coriander just before serving.

Potential Accompaniments:

I personally love this rice dish with garlicky yoghurt. What you’ll have to do is to grate, say 1 to 2 small garlic cloves (depending how garlicky you want the yoghurt to be) in one and a half cup of plain yoghurt with a pinch of salt.  If you don’t have yoghurt on hand, you can also make a simple tomato salad which consists of 3 tomatoes and ½ of a brown onion, both diced. Then stir in some lemon juice, olive oil with a pinch of salt and some pepper as well as fresh chopped coriander leaves.