Don't be frightened by the long list of ingredients! This rice is a simple and delcious side for any Southeast Asian dish.
Terrible dish. I had to keep amending it as it was cooking. It is not made clear whether the spices should be crushed before going into the pot, or if they should be whole. I put them in whole, but think I should have crushed them to release some flavour. Also crushing the spices will leave you with a cleaner looking plate of rice. When the spices remain whole, once served, you get lots of black bits on the plate which is not appealing. Another issue with the recipe, is that lentils take longer to cook than the rice. But the recipe states both should be added at the same time to the pot. There needs to be a different time frame given as to when the rice goes in AFTER the lentils. So when it's cooked the rice is fluffy and not stuck together. If I make this again, it will be heavily tweaked. - 01 Nov 2012