Meatless Monday: Lentils and Spinach

We wanted Naan bread to go with our Meatless Monday meal tonight. I did a little searching around and found this "Indian" dish on All Recipes. They suggested the Lentils and Spinach recipe be served over rice but I wanted to scoop it up onto Naan. So, I made a few little adjustments to fit my wants plus some of the suggestions left in the comments section. You'll notice the changes if you go visit the recipe and compare it with how I made it. I had fresh spinach in the fridge that I was able to use up too, which was great. It was yummy! We all liked it! I'll definitely be making it again.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, halved and sliced into 1/2 rings
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup lentils
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth
  
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach or 1/2- 3/4 bunch of fresh spinach
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• grated carrot
  
• 1 cup cooked rice (I put 1/2 cup in the rice cooker and then added the cooked rice to the pot)
• garlic powder and garlic salt
  

Directions

1. Heat oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Saute onion for 10 minutes or so, until it begins to turn golden. Add about 1/2 tsp. of cumin. Add minced garlic and saute for another minute or so.
2. Add lentils and chicken broth to the saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer about 35-40 minutes, until lentils are soft ( this may take less time, depending on your water and the lentils).
3. Meanwhile remove long stems from spinach and do a rough chop through (or if using frozen, cook spinach according to package directions). Add spinach, rice, salt and remaining cumin to the saucepan. Cover and simmer until all is heated, about ten minutes. Grind in plenty of pepper. I added some extra salt, garlic salt, garlic powder and cumin at the end to taste.