Red Lentil and Rice Patties with Coconut-Mint Sauce

Another great offering from Susan's Blog

When I saw and read the ingredients on Susan's blog, especially the flavors for the sauce, I just had to try this right away.  The only thing missing was the vegetable broth and the Red Bhutanese rice, but that didn't stop me.  I'm not sure we have that special type of rice around here anyway.

My plated picture of this dish doesn't look half as enticing as Susan's so go to the link above and see her tempting photo along with the recipe. 

I couldn't combine everything like she did.  I cooked the rice separately from the red lentils because I used brown rice instead of the Red Bhutanese rice and it takes longer to cook.  I added the cumin seeds, onion and red pepper flakes to the rice and omitted the salt while the red lentils cooked.   They were added to the rice, once they cooled.  I used 2 tablespoons of corn starch rather than one.  Another thing I'll do differently next time I make these is to add extra red pepper flakes for a little more kick.

I didn't use the oil for frying, I baked the patties instead.  I sprayed a little olive oil on the baking sheet and baked them at 350 for 20 minutes on one side and turned them over and baked for another 20 minutes.

They were just beginning to brown and had a nice crusty texture and a soft middle.  They hold together pretty well, but be gentle with them so they don't fall apart.

The picture above right is before baking, while the picture to the left is afterwards.  You can see have a nice lightly toasted appearance.

For the sauce:

I toasted the coconut in a pan on the stove.  I used one spray of Braggs Liquid Aminos which equals 1/2 teaspoon instead of  1 teaspoon of soy. sauce .  Also instead of 1/4 cup vegetable broth I used water because I didn't happen to have any in the pantry. 

I also cooked the rice and lentils in the morning and allowed them to come to room temperature while I ran some errands which broke up the preparation time.  Later in the afternoon it was easy to throw the patty ingredients together, form the patties and pop them in the oven.  I also prepared the sauce while cooking the rice and lentils.

This rice/lentil patty recipe goes to the top of my list for deliciousness.  The other recipe that tops my list of favorites is the recipe before this one; Quinoa And Collards With Chili-Lime Tofu.  And one of the reasons for both of them being a favorite is the bold-flavor sauces used in the recipes.  Number three would have to be the Vindaloo Vegetables which you will also find at Susan's website.