Indian Spiced Rice Lentil Salad

Week 431. Summer 2024. I am 41 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like grilled food and garden herbs and this is my life. This is the life I built.

I went for a run this morning — the Saturday routine, the greenbelt, the river, the particular meditation of feet on a path and lungs filling and the body doing what it was told it couldn't do. The running group meets rain or shine.

Mason is 13 and navigating middle school with the quiet competence that has always been his way — focused, kind, certain of who he is in a way that took me thirty years to achieve.

Lily is 11 and riding horses with the fearlessness of someone who has never considered the possibility of falling.

I made grilled peach salad this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.

I’ve been making this Indian Spiced Rice Lentil Salad on the weeks when I need to feel anchored — the cumin and coriander, the warmth of the spices, the way lentils feel like something solid and real under your hands. After a Saturday run and a kitchen that smelled like summer and everything I’ve managed to build, I wanted food that matched the feeling: steady, nourishing, a little bit extraordinary dressed up as ordinary. This salad is exactly that.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice, rinsed
3/4 cup green or brown lentils, rinsed
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth (for lentils)
1 3/4 cups water (for rice)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small red onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, torn
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds or pepitas (optional, for topping)

Instructions

Cook the lentils. Combine lentils and vegetable broth in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20–25 minutes until tender but not mushy. Drain any excess liquid and set aside to cool slightly.
Cook the rice. While lentils cook, bring water to a boil in a separate saucepan. Add rice and a pinch of salt, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 15–18 minutes until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Let cool slightly.
Bloom the spices. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the red onion and cook 4–5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir in cumin, coriander, turmeric, smoked paprika, and cayenne (if using). Cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Remove from heat.
Combine the salad. In a large bowl, toss together the warm rice, lentils, and spiced onion mixture. Add cherry tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro, and mint. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and lemon juice. Toss gently to combine.
Season and serve. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with toasted almonds or pepitas if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Indian Spiced Rice Lentil Salad — The Thread That Connects Every Table