This thoughtful rice dinner is composed of a mixture of rice and lentils topped with a tasty spiced tomato sauce and browned onions. Versatile and filling this recipe for Kusherie is not only delicious but can help you stretch your food budget and feed a practice of abundant generosity.

A serving of Kusherie, Egyptian rice and lentils topped with tomato sauce and browned onions, on a black plate with a fork.

Rice Dinners for Lent

Several years ago my family made a commitment to eat weekly rice dinners during the season of Lent. Instead of a normal weeknight dinner, on Wednesday evenings we ate plain rice. Water, salt, rice. Nothing else.

Rice is inexpensive and simple to prepare. It is a pantry staple in most kitchens. In some places in the world it is the only food available. As we ate we discussed the significance of the meal. We also cut down on time spent planning, preparing and cleaning up from this simple meal. Then we took the money we had saved on that dinner and put it aside to share with those in need.

At that time all of my children lived at home and we ate dinner together on Wednesday nights. They were enthusiastic about our rice dinners at first. It wasn’t long, however, until the blandness of the meal began to dull their good humor.

After a few weeks we discussed ways that we might make our rice dinners more palatable. My family liked the rice better when it was cooked in a savory stock than when it was just cooked in water. Of course that meant we needed to buy more ingredients and gave us less money to set aside for the needy. Other times, we cooked vegetables with the rice. That improved the enjoyment of our meal but it added to meal prep and clean up as well as cost.

The Discipline of Generosity

All in all, I thought the rice dinners were a good practice for Lent. I hoped to make them a weekly part of our Lenten season again this year but circumstances got in the way. This year it was hard to find a weeknight when my family was home to eat together. With our current schedules it just didn’t work out as a mindful family practice. Reluctantly, I let it go.

Then, last week, I had the opportunity to listen to Marva Dawn. She led a discussion at our church on Generosity as a Lenten Discipline. This talk encompassed the same concept as our rice dinners but took the idea a few steps further.

Kusherie, a mixture of rice and lentils served with spiced tomato sauce, browned onions and yogurt.

Marva began by drawing our attention to something every child seems to know without question – that to divide and share really means to break something in half and give one of those halves away. With that in mind, she then challenged us to share with those in need by cutting our grocery budget in half and giving the other half to the hungry. Wow! That’s some challenge. It struck a chord in my thinking and seemed to not only build upon the ideas I had in mind for Lent but to make them a lot more personal.

In thinking about my grocery budget this week, I have to say I’m not at all sure that I can do it. Still the challenge has inspired me to ask some important questions. What do I need? Are there some things I can do without? What can I change to make such giving possible? Can we eat more simply on a regular basis? Would cutting back cause me to feel deprived? Would preparing my food more simply leave more time and resources for other things of value?

More with Less – Living Creatively

In the face of world hunger it is easy to wonder whether or not our small contribution, in the form of a few dollars a week saved by eating a simple rice dinner, or even half of our grocery budget generously shared, will really make a difference in the world. In a great cookbook I have had for many years, “More-with-Less Cookbook: suggestions by Mennonites on how to eat better and consume less of the world’s limited food resources” by Doris Janzen Longacre, in the chapter titled “Change – an Act of Faith,” the author reminds us that “we are not called to be successful, but to be faithful.” It challenges us, not so much to do without, but rather to live more creatively with what we need… and in the process find more that we can share with others. It challenges us to a practice of abundant generosity.

This cookbook also reminds us of the story of the loaves and fishes in Matthew 14. In this story five thousand men, plus women and children, are hungry and need to be fed. Jesus tells his disciples to feed the people. Not understanding how they will do this, they search the crowd for food. What they find is one boy with five loaves and two fish. These he offered. Then Jesus blessed what was offered, and broke it. When it was distributed, all who were in need had enough with more left over. Doris Janzen Longacre points out that “Their act of faith was to share and let God take responsibility for the rest.”

So, as this Lent draws to a close, why not strive to cultivate that childlike view? When you have something that nourishes you, in body, mind or spirit, consider breaking it in half and sharing it with someone in need. You just might find that even more comes back to you. There may even be some left over.

Egyptian Rice and Lentils topped with yogurt and browned onions, served on a black plate.

Kusherie

Perhaps my favorite recipe in the “More-with-Less Cookbook” is for Kusherie (or Kushari, or Egyptian Rice and Lentils). It is another variation on the idea of a rice dinner. It is more in keeping with an on-going practice of doing more with less as it provides a nutritionally balanced meal.

Kusherie also requires a bit more prep time than a simple rice dinner. Still, despite the relatively long list of ingredients, it is a fairly basic recipe using many common pantry items. The lentils are browned before adding the cooking liquid. The rice is added a little later and finishes in the same pot with the lentils, all cooking until they are tender but still defined. Together they make a complete protein to nourish your family.

The tomato sauce topping is uniquely spiced and quite delicious, adding a full flavor to the blander elements of the meal. That said, Kusherie is also wonderful, and simpler to prepare, when topped with yogurt. Browned onions add even more flavor and substance to either version of this main course.

All in all Kusherie is a beautiful recipe. Sharing it with family and friends can serve as an encouragement to honor your curiosity and your eagerness to share as you act in faith during the season of Lent and beyond.

Enjoy!