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Lentil Rice Casserole with Indian spices baked with chickpea flour dumplings. Use veggies and lentils of choice. Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free Recipe.
Casseroles work out well for when you want to put everything in a pot or pan and keep it ready to bake, bake an h our or so before the occassion and serve. This casserole is like a Biryani styke casserole with lentils, rice, spices and topped with a gluten-free dumpling made with chickpea flour. All the layers cook during baking to make a layered casserole. Add the dumplings or serve as is with garlic butter dinner rolls.
Layer the lentils, spices, tomato slices and rice. Add water to cover. Store to bake later. or Bake for 50 minutes. Then top with dumpling batter and bake again. Cool for a minute and serve.
More bakes from the blog… This amazing Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole, or a hearty Quinoa black bean cheddar casserole. Crowd pleasing Spinach florentine bake, and a holiday Sheldperd’s pie with chickpeas, veggies and sweet potatoes, can all be prepped ahead.
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Lentil Rice Casserole with Chickpea Dumplings
Ingredients
Casserole:
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 bay leaf
- Spice: 1.5 to 2 tsp garam masala + 1/2 tsp garlic powder + 1/2 tsp cayenne, or use biryani masala spice blend, or berbere, or use spice mix from the notes,
- 1/2 cup uncooked brown lentils, washed and picked for stones
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp onion flakes , or 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh onion
- 1/2 cup packed chopped spinach or rainbow chard, optional
- 2 medium tomatoes, sliced (1/8 to 1/4 inch)
- 1/2 cup uncooked basmati or other long grain rice, washed and drained (I used white Basmati rice)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 cloves optional
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 1/4 cups water, divided
Dumplings:
- 3/4 cup chickpea flour
- 1/3 to 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garam masala , or use 1/4 tsp each of ground cumin and coriander
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp oil
- 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1/2 cup finely chopped lightly packed cilantro
- cilantro and lemon juice for garnish
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven too 400 degrees F / 200ºc. Spray or brush oil at the bottom of a baking dish. Sprinkle half of the spice mix and bay leaf on the oil.
- Layer the washed and drained lentils to cover the bottom. Sprinkle the rest of the garam masala/spice blend, salt, onion flakes on the lentils.
- Layer greens on top. Gently pour 1 cup of water in the dish.
- Layer the tomato slices to cover the greens. Sprinkle washed rice on top. Sprinkle cumin, salt, and cloves on the rice. Gently pour 1 1/4 cup of water. At this point you can refrigerate the casserole, without disturbing it too much.
- Place foil and lightly seal. Bake at 400 degrees F / 200ºc for 50 minutes.
Dumpling:
- Meanwhile Make the dumpling batter. Whisk chickpea flour, salt, garam masala and baking powder. Add coconut milk, vinegar and oil and mix into a smooth thick batter. If the batter is too thin, add a tbsp or so more chickpea flour. Fold in the onion and cilantro.
- Uncover the baking dish. Spray water generously on top if the rice appears dry. Drop dollops of the dumpling batter on top. Place foil again on top and bake for 14 minutes.
- Remove the foil and broil for a minute for a crisper dumpling top (optional). Let cool for 5 minutes. Top with cilantro and lemon juice and serve.
Notes
1.5 tsp aleppo pepper flakes (or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes + 1/2 tsp paprika),1/4 tsp black peppercorns,1/2 tsp garlic powder,1/2 tsp ginger powder Brown Rice: Soak medium grain brown or brown basmati rice for an hour before using. Add 3/4 cup more water tot he casserole and bake for 60 minutes. Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m not going to lie. This seemed like a strange recipe, but it works. Great flavour. Very satisfying. I will definitely be making this again.
looks can be deceiving !
Omg…this is sorcery ….was so skeptical how it will all come together…but it did…loved the dumplings as well….thank you so much for such variety…
This was fabulous! I doubled the recipe and found that I had a bit too much dumpling batter and water for my round casserole dish; I recommend using an oval or rectangular one. Leftovers heated up amazingly in the microwave. Easy to make, and great to be able to walk away from the oven for 50 minutes! I will definitely be adding this to our meal rotation.
I really enjoyed this recipe! It was easy to make, high in plant-based protein, and yummy! My husband and I really enjoyed the chickpea dumplings especially – yum!! Thank you! I plan to make it again.
that’s great – thank you for your amazing feedback
Brilliant recipe. Very yummy. Full of Indian flavours. We didn’t have chickpea flour so used spelt and we only use brown rice -just had to cook of for longer with the brown rice. Very creative vegan recipe. Nice to have something different to the normal ones you see.
good to know, variety is the spice of life! thx for the great review
Thank you! Tastes great, easy too make. Would be nice with some coconut joghurt raita.
oooo- good idea
Can I use self-rising flour instead of chickpea flour?
yes,
Should the dumplings rise or stay flat?
they rise a little bit. if using besan, they wont rise as much as with chickpea flour
This looks so good! I can’t eat tomatoes, do you have a suggestion for a good substitution? I’m wondering if it should be something with high water content…
you can use some roasted red peppers. just a thin layer.
Incredibly flavorful, tender, and just plain delicious. Keep doing what your doing!
awesome!