Indian spiced lentils with rice

I really liked this meal.  Loved the mild curry, and the sweetness of the raisins.  However, it wasn't a huge hit with the kiddos.  Gets a blog post because I liked it and have finally finished all of the left overs for lunch. (sure sign that I really liked it.)  YUM!  I found the original on 6 o'clock scramble.  I did modify it knowing that curry isn't a popular flavor in my house.  The modification was good enough that DH ended up liking it, and our oldest ate it and had seconds, but the rest of them were not impressed with the curry even though I cut it in half and added extra cumin.   Oh well.   They all tried it though.  Even Mr. Picky toddler ate 2 bites for me.  Happy day.  :)
The suggestion at 6 o'clock scramble was to serve this with a cucumber/avocado salad.  I wasn't a fan of that, but then again I'm not a fan of avocado (unless it is in guacamole.)

Here's how I made the lentil dish

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup lentils
• 4 1/2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 cup raisins
• greek yogurt for serving

Directions

1. In a large stockpot with a tight fitting lid, heat coconut oil over medium high heat and saute the onions, uncovered for about 5 minutes until they start to brown.
2. Ad dthe rice, curry powder, cumin and bay leaves and stir for a minute to coat the rice with the oil.  Add remaining ingredients (except yogurt) and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until water is absorbed and the rice is tender, 50-55 minutes.  (I did 50 minutes, my water was absorbed, but my rice was not tender enough, so I added about 1/2 cup more water and simmered for 5 additional minutes)
3. Remove bay leaves and serve topped with  yogurt if desired.