Brown rice, lentil and spinach curry

3/4 cup lentils
1/4 cup saute liquid
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 small green chile, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup long-grain brown rice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 1/4 cups vegetable broth or water
1/2 pound spinach leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Wash lentils and put them in a saucepan with 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring
to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to very low, and cook 20 minutes. Remove
from heat until ready to add to the rice.

Heat the saute liquid in a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven. Add onion
and celery and cook 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 3 minutes. Add carrot
and chile. Cook, stirring, 1 or 2 minutes. Add ground spices and cook,
stirring, about 1 minute. Add rice. Cook, stirring, about 5 minutes,
until grains turn translucent, then opaque, but not scorched. Stir in
the lentils and any unabsorbed water in the lentil pot. Add salt,
pepper, and broth or water. Cook at a low boil for 15 minutes. Add the
spinach, pushing it down into the rice mixture. Cover, reduce heat to
very low, and cook 30 minutes.

In a small skillet or saucepan, cook the cumin seeds until they begin to
darken and pop. Pour over the lentil-rice mixture, add the lemon juice,
and serve.

Serving Size: Serves 4 as a main dish

Number of Servings: 4

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user SOFPAN89.