AI-generated image
Moroccan lentils (aadess)
Aadess: brown lentils in a thick tomato, garlic, cumin and paprika sauce rich with olive oil
Cheap, filling and ready in under an hour, aadess turns up on home tables from Fez to Casablanca and in the clay bowls of small medina eateries that sell beans and lentils with bread to workers at lunchtime. The lentils stay whole but tender, sitting in a thick, brick-coloured sauce of grated tomato, garlic, cumin and paprika, finished with a generous slick of olive oil and fresh herbs. Scoop it up with crusty khobz; a dab of harissa or a few olives on the side is all it needs. Chef's tip: pick through the lentils on a plate before you rinse them, since small stones turn up even in good bags.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put 10 ½ oz brown or green lentils, 1 onion, 2 ripe tomatoes, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 4 garlic cloves, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 ½ tsp ground cumin, 1 ½ tsp sweet paprika, ½ tsp ground turmeric and 1 bay leaf in a pot. Moroccan cooks often start everything together in cold water like this; the sauce comes together as the lentils cook.
Step 2: Pour in 4 ¼ cups water, bring to the boil over a high heat, then turn down to a steady simmer and half-cover.
5 minStep 3: Simmer for 25–30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils are tender but still whole. Add a splash of hot water if they absorb it all before they soften.
28 minStep 4: Season with 1 tsp salt, stir in 3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley and 3 tbsp coriander leaves and simmer uncovered for 5 more minutes until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Do not add salt at the start: it can keep the skins firm while you wait for the insides to soften.
5 minStep 5: Take out the bay leaf, drizzle with the rest of 1 tbsp olive oil and serve hot in bowls with bread.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 10 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does moroccan lentils (aadess) take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of ripe tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Sayur lodeh
Sayur lodeh is everyday cooking in Central Java, made in big pots in Solo and Semarang kitchens and ladled over rice, with lontong rice cakes at Lebaran, or alongside opor and sambal goreng on festive tables. It's soupy rather than thick: a fragrant broth of coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass and lime leaf that carries chunks of aubergine, long beans, chayote and sweetcorn, plus tempeh and tofu to make it a meal. The flavour is mellow and slightly sweet, so the heat comes from sambal on the side. Chef's tip: keep the pot at a gentle simmer once the coconut milk goes in and stir now and then — a rolling boil splits the coconut milk into oily curds.
Indonesian
Polos curry
Polos is the tiny unripe jackfruit picked in the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces long before it sweetens, and cooked low and slow it becomes one of the island's most loved festival curries, especially at Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April and at wedding lunches. The firm, pale flesh soaks up a very dark roasted curry powder, garlic, ginger, goraka (a smoky souring fruit) and coconut milk until it turns almost black-brown and tastes rich, sour and meaty. Fresh polos is hard to find abroad; tinned young green jackfruit in brine works well. A frequent mistake is not cooking it long enough, which leaves it squeaky; the pieces must be soft enough to break with a spoon. Chef's tip: oil your hands and knife before cutting fresh jackfruit; the sticky white sap washes off oiled skin but not dry skin.
Sri Lankan
Chana masala
A North Indian staple that comes together from the store cupboard. Toasted cumin, slow-softened onion and a good spoonful of garam masala give tinned chickpeas real depth. Serve with rice, naan or a stack of warm rotis.
Indian