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.
It’s holiday season again! What are your favorite animal or human organizations (local or international) doing amazing things and consistently bringing a smile to everyone!
Recipe Card
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 (96 g) uncooked brown lentils washed and picked for stones
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 2 tsp onion flakes or 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh onion
- 1/2 cup (18 g) packed chopped spinach or rainbow chard optional
- 2 medium tomatoes sliced (1/8 to 1/4 inch)
- 1/2 cup (92.5 g) uncooked basmati or other long grain rice washed and drained (I used white Basmati rice)
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 3 cloves optional
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) cumin seeds
- 2 1/4 cups (562.5 ml) water divided
Dumplings:
- 3/4 cup (90 g) chickpea flour
- 1/3 to 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) garam masala or use 1/4 tsp each of ground cumin and coriander
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup (113 ml) full fat coconut milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp oil
- 1/2 cup (70 g) finely chopped red onion
- 1/2 cup (8 g) 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
Pat
I have a glass lid that came with my Corningware casserole dish. Would that be sufficient to use instead of aluminum foil or does the recipe really need the foil? The recipe looks great. Want to try this. All your recipes turn out great.
Richa
Yes glass lid will Work
Linda L
I don’t know why I was sceptical that this would work. I expected my lentils to still be rock hard. I am happy that this was one of the easiest and tastiest casseroles I have h made. Fabulous recipe!!
Richa
Lentils work well in casseroles!
Shannon
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.
Vegan Richa Support
looks can be deceiving !
Sital
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…
Kelly Caiazzo
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.
Meagan Tuck
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.
Vegan Richa Support
that’s great – thank you for your amazing feedback
Danielle Shah
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.
Vegan Richa Support
good to know, variety is the spice of life! thx for the great review
Henriette
Thank you! Tastes great, easy too make. Would be nice with some coconut joghurt raita.
Vegan Richa Support
oooo- good idea
Marie
Can I use self-rising flour instead of chickpea flour?
Richa
yes,
Natalie
Should the dumplings rise or stay flat?
Richa G
they rise a little bit. if using besan, they wont rise as much as with chickpea flour
Sarah
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…
Richa
you can use some roasted red peppers. just a thin layer.
Pam
Incredibly flavorful, tender, and just plain delicious. Keep doing what your doing!
Richa
awesome!
Sarah
We love this recipe! I have made it four times now. It’s so versatile! I never have coconut milk, but soy milk works fine. I prefer using onion powder instead of the diced onion in the dumplings, and because I am always running low on chickpea flour, I have discovered that you can successfully sub 1/3 to 1/2 the flour with Bob’s Cup 4 Cup GF flour. I even made it once with chipotle and Mexican spices instead!
I would advise readers to always double the recipe (fits well in a 9×12 dish) because the leftovers just get better and better. I serve it with a dollop of Forager plain cashew yogurt, and it is heaven!
Richa
Awesome! Thanks!
Shannon
I wanted to leave a rating because I’ve made this recipe a half dozen times or so and it is awesome! Easy, tasty, filling!
Richa
Thank you Shannon!
Joy
What size casserole dish do you use?
Richa
1.5 qt, 9.5 by 7.5 inch
Carol Schweppe
Hi Richa,
I am laughing with tears in my eyes. I just read through my comment and came to my last sentence. ” thank you for you Doritos in the world” Lol! Good old spell check on my iPad!
I really meant to say, “Thank you for your SPIRIT in the world”!
But maybe Doritos is OK, too! 😉
Blessings for a Beautiful Day.
Richa
I thought that was some autocorrect. Doritos is just fine 🙂
Carol Schweppe
Hello,
I just wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed your recipes! This casserole is FABULOUS! We follow an oil & gluten free plant based diet for many years. I omitted the oil in the bottom of the dish and soaked my brown rice as you suggested. I added 2 tsp of tahini to the chickpea dumplings instead of oil. I also used chopped kale for the greens because that is what I had on hand. I made up the casserole the day before, as you suggested, then baked it the next day and added the dumplings. I finished with a couple minutes on broil until it was nicely browned. OMG! It is delicious! So many layers of flavors and textures. What a great dish for a brunch! My husband and I ate the whole thing at one sitting.
Making the chocolate ginger cookies tomorrow! LOVE the broccoli fritters, red pepper mac and cheese with chickpeas & chopped broccoli & cauliflower, tofu stir fry ( I bake mine first for oil free version)with veggies, mushrooms &hoisin sauce, turmeric peanut butter curry with yellow squash, Sheperds pie, have made all these and more numerous times!! How grateful we are for your generosity in sharing your skill. It is easy for me to adapt, substitute, or in some case add things. In the red pepper pasta, for instance, I added the zest and juice of a lemon plus 2 Tabs of tahini to the sauce ingredients. The lemon juice & zest really make it sparkle!
I am happily working my way through all your recipes and we LOVE everything.
Thank you too for the work you do with the animals, for your compassion and kindness. We too, foster dogs and work with rescue groups. Thank you for your Doritos in the world.
Deep Bows,
Carol S.
Richa
Thats Awesome! I am so glad you love the recipes and they turn out well! 🙂 <3 <3
Ks
I started this recipe and then realized i dont have baking powder…can i make do without it?
Richa
how about baking soda or eno? or you can skip the dumplings and serve with flatbreads/rotis instead
Ruth Eisenbud
Without a doubt my favorite animal organization is WildlifeSOS India. They have complete integrity and unlike organizations such as HSUS which exist to expand their coffers, with little regard for animals…. Wildlife SOS India is completely trust worthy.
Richa
Yes I have followed and donated to wildlife sos since many years. They are an incredible set of people. They are also mentioned in my book in the list of organizations supported by the book sales.
Chuck M
When should the rice be cooked? It certainly doesn’t get cooked when you just wash it and add water to the casserole.
Richa
Rice cooks during baking in the casserole. 50 mins is plenty time.
Alisha
This looks delicious! Do you think it would work with brown rice?
Richa
Yes, it should work. I updated the post with instructions. You will need more water and longer bake time. Check if the rise is cooked before you add the dumplings. You want to use quicker cooking brown rice and some types and brands take much longer than others.
Alisha
Oh, thank you!!! I can’t wait to try it.