p of split peas for about three hours. Then put them on
to stew with two whole onions. When about half done add a cup of rice.
The water must be about two inches above the split peas and rice. Cook
until rice and peas are soft and the water is absorbed. Pour over all
some melted butter or crisco. Usually kidgeri is served with poached
eggs. Sometimes eggs are hard-boiled and sliced over the kidgeri after
it is dished.

50. Armenian Kidgeri.

Soak a cup of split peas for several hours, then fry with two
thinly-sliced onions and a cup of rice. When slightly brown, cover with
water and boil. The water should be three inches above the peas and
rice; also add a little bag of mixed spices. Fry some meat in a separate
pan. It may be either beefsteak, Hamburg, or mutton. When rice and peas
are soft, place a layer of meat in a dish and cover with a layer of the
rice and peas. Repeat until all are used, being careful to have the rice
and peas on top. Steam together and serve with cocoanut and fried onions
sprinkled over the top.

51. Dal Bhat.

Dal Bhat is the universal breakfast dish all over India. Prepare as for
split pea curry (No. 23), but omit the curry powder, if desired.

Often it is prepared by frying minced meat with the onions before the
peas are added.

No food known gives as much real value for the cost as do lentils. The
green and yellow ones can be obtained very easily at any large grocery,
and we urge all to give them a trial.

IV.

Rice.

As a rule rice is badly cooked in the average American home. For this
reason last winter when there was a good deal of talk of rice as a
substitute for potatoes, very little enthusiasm was felt on the subject,
and indeed when one thinks of the tasteless, gummy mess which is so
often put before the family, this lack of enthusiasm is not strange.
However, rice properly prepared proves quite a formidable rival of the
beloved potato, and there are endless ways of preparing it if one only
knows how.

[Illustration: POUNDING RICE]

In the first place, very few know how to cook just plain boiled rice.
Many know that there is a way of preparing it so that when done it will
be a fluffy mass of separate grains, but they have no idea how to go
about making it look like this.

The process is very simple. Always use the unpolished rice. Rice with a
creamy tinge is better than rice with a pearly white tinge, and the long
grain is better than the short.

52. Pl