Shula Kalambar

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Shula Kalambar

A dish of lentils & spinach - contributed by L. J. Spencer, Jr.
• 1 cup Brown lentils
• 8 oz. Frozen spinach (1 lb. fresh)
• 1/2 tsp. Coriander, ground
• 1/2 tsp. Cumin, ground
• 1 clove Garlic, crushed
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• 2 T Butter, melted

Boil lentils until tender, about 3/4 to 1 1/2 hrs. Defrost spinach and drain well. Chop
spinach leaves finely and stew gently in their own juices until tender. Drain lentils and add
them to the spinach. Season to taste. Stir well. Add butter, and let it melt into vegetables.
Serves 6.
Notes on the recipe:
Prepared in medieval Persia to heal the sick. For the cure to be effective, the ingredients
had to be bought with money begged in the streets. From The Book of Middle Eastern Food,
pg. 266, Claudia Roden.

When I made this I did it in double batches. I boiled 2 cups of lentils in 5 cups of water with about 2/3 tsp salt. I chopped frozen spinach and added it and the rest of the ingredients after the lentils were
cooked and had absorbed most to all of the water. I tried a batch with butter and one with olive oil and both worked well. I left out the pepper and used 2 to 4 times as much fresh garlic as the recipe called for and used 2 tsp of salt for each double batch. The salt I used was kosher salt.