Recipe: Red Lentil Rice Cakes

Recipe: Skratch Labs Portables - Red Lentil Rice Cakes

(Original recipe from Feed Zone Portables by Biju Thomas & Allen Lim)
Makes: 15 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Keep in mind, these rice cakes are NOT going to be strongly flavoured! These cakes are meant to be lightly flavoured in order to give you fuel and not cause you any stomach troubles along the way.  As listed in the Portables "Rules to ride by"

"Bold flavours are taken best sitting down.  When making ride or workout foods, use mild ingredients and keep seasoning light.  The same dishes can be more bold when cooking for boxed lunches or at home.  The opposite is true for salt."
-- Thomas, Biju, and Allen Lim. Feed Zone Portables: A Cookbook of On-The-Go Food for Athletes. Boulder, Colorado: VeloPress, 2013. Print. Page 53.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup uncooked red lentils
• 2 Cups uncooked sticky rice (Calrose, arborio, or any sushi rice should work here)
• 4 1/2 Cups water
• 1 Tablespoon minced onion
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon minced jalapeño pepper
• 1 Teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon tomato paste
• 1/4 Cup plain Greek yogurt
• Coarse salt and pepper to taste

Optional Additions:

• 1/2 Cup diced tomato
• Add this to the pan with the onion and pepper so the moisture cooks off and the tomato breaks down
• 1 Teaspoon chopped scallion / green onion
• 1 Tablespoon minced flat leaf parsley or cilantro
• 1 Teaspoon Tabasco (or other mild pepper sauce)

 Methods:

1. Rinse the lentils and rice in cold water, and drain completely.
2. Combine the lentils, rice, water, and a dash of salt into a pot / rice cooker and let cook.
3. Bring saute pan to med-high heat with a little bit of oil to coat the bottom
4. Lightly cook the onion and pepper (about 5 minutes)
5. Sprinkle in the paprika and stir, if needed add a little more oil to keep everything from sticking
6. Stir in the tomato paste, turn heat to low, and add the yogurt
7. Mix thoroughly then remove from heat and set aside 
8. Once rice and lentils are done, add to sautéed veg mixture and toss in any additional ingredients
9. Adjust salt and pepper to taste
10. Spread evenly in a 9" x 12" baking pan (I used 9x13 and it was just as fine)
11. Let the mixture set up for a bit, and then cut into squares and wrap!

Nutritional Info:

Energy: 150 cal

Fat: 1g

Sodium: 110mg 

Carbs: 30g

Fiber: 2g

Protein: 5g

Water: 67%