After a fireside gin and tonic and a dinner of dal bhat, or lentil soup and rice.

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They are followed by Arabic mezze, such as moutabel (a hummus-like dip made with eggplant), fattoush (Lebanese salad) or lentil soup.

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Place half the lentil mixture in an ovenproof dish, then layer on the stuffing and top with the remaining lentils.

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Lunch was a single piece of bread, and dinner was a small serving of rice, lentil soup and occasionally vegetables.

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There's the lentil-growing area near Limerick, Saskatchewan, and a thriving Irish-arts scene.

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Mavalli Palace -- Nowhere else in New York is the lowly lentil elevated to such nobility as at this South India offering in Gramercy Park, where you can enjoy an array of vegetarian delights.

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The Strand is still there, but totally renovated as a top-of-the-range hotel, where a bowl of spicy lentil soup and a bottle of Mandalay beer will cost you as much as a room once did.

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Meals also usually include malum, a salad of chopped leafy greens and coconut, crispy poppadoms (a large circular piece of thin, spiced bread), dal (a type of lentil stew), coconut sambal (a spicy condiment), home-made chutney and of course, fragrant steamed rice.

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