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1
Rinse the rice and drain it.
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2
Heat the 2 tbs olive oil at the bottom of a cooking pot and add the rice, stirring to coat the grains with oil.
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3
When rice is transparent, or after a minute or two, add the garlic. Stir half a minute and add salt and then the 3 cups of boiling water.
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4
Bring it back to a boil, then cover and lower the flame to lowest setting. Cook the rice until the water is evaporated and the rice is tender.
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5
Set aside the rice.
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6
Pick over the lentils and rinse. Simmer them in the water with the bay leaf until they are soft but not mushy, probably 30-40 minutes. You can add more water if they are drying out but need more time to cook. When they are done, drain if there is any leftover water.
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7
Add salt to flavor the lentils when they are done and remove the bay leaf. Set aside. (You can probably do the rice and lentils mostly at the same time).
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8
Slice the onions very thin.
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9
Caramelize the onions in the 2 tbs olive oil, on a very low flame, until they are soft and golden, not brown and crisp.
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10
Add the cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper to the onions.
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11
Now combine: fluff the rice with a fork. Add the lentils and stir. Stir in some of the onions and perhaps leave some to go on the top.
