Instant Pot Vegetable & Lentil Rice

Soft, spiced rice and red lentils with carrots and courgette: gentle, filling and very cheap.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 15 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 50 minutes
Vegetarian
✅
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Very Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 carrots, finely diced
  • 1 courgette, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 150g long grain rice
  • 100g red lentils
  • 600ml hot vegetable stock (1 stock cube)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

  1. Rinse the rice and lentils together in a sieve under cold running water until the water runs clear, then drain well.

  2. Select Sauté and heat the oil. Cook the onion and carrots for 4 minutes. Add the courgette, garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric and tomato purée and cook for 1 minute.

  3. Pour in the stock and scrape up any stuck-on bits from the base of the inner pot; this prevents a Burn notice. Add the rice and lentils and stir.

  4. Lock the lid, set the steam release valve to Sealing and select Pressure Cook (High) for 6 minutes.

  5. When the time is up, leave the pot to release pressure naturally for 10 minutes, then carefully turn the valve to Venting to release any remaining steam.

  6. Stir well; the mixture will be soft and creamy. Stir in the lemon juice, season to taste and serve.