Sephardic Flavors: Rice and lentils (Yedra)

This is one of my "new" favorites. The cuisine of the Sephardi Jews is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Jews of Spain, Portugal, the Mediterranean (Turkey, Greece, Maghreb) and Arab countries.

Yedra is one of those simple delicious inexpensive dishes you can enjoy everywhere in the world.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of rice
1 1/2 cups of lentils
1 onion

Photo: guthrieschroeder Flickr

Preparation:

Wash the lentils and soak it for half an hour.
Boil the lentils until they are 3/4 cooked and keep the water
Slice the onion and fry it until it is caramelized
Fry the rice with the onion and add the boiled lentils
Put more water (up to 3 cups) and cook as a normal rice with a low flame

Serve with fresh thin sour cream (jocoque) and a salad made of cucumber, tomato, fresh leaves of mint, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Enjoy with crunchy slices of pita bread!