Makhlouta 1 - Vegetarian Hearty Lebanese Lentil & Bean Soup

Um Safia's Note:

Makhlouta is a delicious filling soup which has been made traditionally in Lebanon for hundreds of years - usually it has 7 main pulse/grain ingredients. This is the pressure cooker method but you can do it the traditional way using a large pot & simmer the soup until the lentils, beans & chick peas are tender. Feel free to add some stock / bouillion cubes to this soup along with any additional spices you might like. I have added chicken to this on occasion too. This is the first version of Makhlouta, I will be posting another version too. Time to make doesn't include overnight soaking of the pulses.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 cup dry green lentils or 1 cup brown lentils
• 1 cup dried garbanzo beans
• 1/2 cup dried black beans
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
• 6 cups water
• 1 lemon, juice of

Directions:

1. Soak the beans, lentils & chick peas over night in plenty of cold water. Once soaked, rinse them well & pick out any bad bits, grit etc.
2. Place the beans, lentils & chick peas in a pressure cooker with the water & salt. Cook on a medium heat for 15 minutes (time from when the cooker reaches it's pressure).
3. In a separate pan, cook the rice how you like it - I rinse it then add it to 1 1/2 cups of lightly salted water, cover & turn heat down. Drain & set aside once cooked.
4. In a frying pan / skillet, brown the onions in the olive oil. Set aside once cooked.
5. When the pulses have finished cooking, allow the cooker to de-pressurize then add the rice, onions, caraway seeds & re-season if desired. Simmer uncovered until the soup is the consistency you like - you can add a little more water or stock if it thickens too much.
6. Add the lemon juice & cook for a couple more minutes before serving.