Lentil and Rice with Carmalized Onions

I really wanted to like this. I LOVE a good, spicy rice dish and this smelled SO good while the rice was cooking. But it turned out...a tad bland. There is hope though, I think I can put in some cayenne pepper when I put in the cumin. Also, the dish was a little oily. No surprise since the recipe calls for 3/4 CUP OF OLIVE OIL. Really? I love fat in my food but that's a LOT. I reduced it to half a cup and it's still too much. Next time I'll go for 1/4 a cup and see what that does. Also, I'll be adding balsamic vinegar to the onions as they caramelize. I used brown lentils this time since the store didn't have red, so I'd like to try it with red next time.
There did seem to be one problem with the recipe. It calls for 4 cups of water but by the time I put in the lentils, the water was already gone and I had to add about 3 more so the lentils would have something to absorb. A bit of the rice stuck to the pan before I could rescue it but it still turned out okay. However, I am confused as to how the water requirements could be THAT off.

I've planned a lot of changes for next time. Even though, this dish didn't turn out too badly. A little salt gave it a nice kick and I think it's passable. Still, I'm excited for the next time.

STATS:
Vegan
Total Calories: About 2500 (as written)
Makes: About 4 cups
Cooking Time: More than an hour
Find it: On page 177 of Veganomicon
Taste: Decent, shows great promise