Spiced Yellow Lentils and Rice with Raita

This is a bowl of healthy comfort food to eat on a frigid day.  You can eat it until you are full and it's still good for you.

 Cook yellow split peas according to package directions and add a bay leaf, 1 tsp. of turmeric, 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger, 2 tsp. cumin and some salt and pepper. Bring this to a boil and then partially cover and simmer for about 1 hour until the peas are tender.

While that is cooking, melt 4 tsp. of ghee (or oil) in a pan.

Add 1 large diced onion and 4 minced garlic cloves and cook until the onion softens.  Sprinkle this with salt and pepper, 1/8 tsp. ground cloves and 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon.

To make the raita, in a separate  bowl mix 2 cups of plain yogurt with 2 grated carrots, 1 diced cucumber, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 tsp. cumin and some salt to taste.  Mix this thoroughly and set aside.

Stir the onion mixture into the split peas.

Make some rice and serve the split peas over it in a bowl.

Top it with some minced cilantro and parsley.  Serve it with a dollop of raita and some naan on the side.