Wash the lentils under the running tap. Put them in a cooking pan with just one cup of water and bring them to a boil on high heat, it takes 5-7 minutes. Lower the heat and cook them covered for another 15-20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Add the washed rice, the salt, pepper, and cumin, add another cup of water, stir gently and leave to boil, then lower heat. At this stage of the cooking you can put a grid under the pot in order to make sure that the rice and lentils will not stick to the bottom of the pan.

While the lentils are cooking, peel and wash the onion and chop it into rings. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onion rings until they turn golden. By this time, the cooking water of the lentil and rice mixture will have been almost absorbed: add the hot oil from the pan to the lentils, but do not add the onion rings, and stir gently with a wooden spatula. Leave to simmer for a few minutes until the liquid is totally absorbed, then remove from the stove and leave to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Use the onion rings to decorate the top of the serving plate and prepare a tomato salad to serve on the side.