Syrian lentils and pasta with tamarind, fried onions and pita croutons

Cut two thin pita breads into small pieces with a knife or scissors.

Heat some oil in a pot over high heat; line a plate with paper towels.

Fry the bread until golden, less than 30 seconds, and pull it out right away so it does not burn. Spread on the towels and sprinkle with a little salt.

Peel and halve 4 onions, trim the smallest amount of root so they hold together, and slice thinly on a mandolin.

Put the onions in a pot with the heat off and pour in olive oil to almost submerge them.

Turn the heat to high and fry 8 to 15 minutes, stirring often so they do not stick.

Pull them out as soon as they turn light golden; drain onto kitchen towels, spread with forks and salt them. Change the towels after 10 minutes to keep them crisp.

Once cooled, strain the oil to remove bits and keep it as onion oil.

Break up 200 g tamarind block, pour over 1 litre boiling water and let sit 30 to 40 minutes.

Crush and squeeze the pulp with a potato masher, then pour through a medium sieve (not fine mesh) to separate the concentrate from the seeds.

In the onion pot, bring 1 litre water to a boil and deglaze the pot. Wash 250 g lentils thoroughly, add, cover and cook on medium for 25 minutes.

Cook small pasta in boiling salty water for half its packet time (4 of 9 minutes), drain and rinse with cold water to remove excess starch so it does not clump.

Add the pasta to the lentils with 2 1/2 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp black pepper and 100 g pomegranate molasses.

Add all the tamarind liquid, a handful of fried onions and 1/3 cup onion oil; mix. Add more water if the lentils and pasta show through the liquid.

Bring to a rolling boil on high, cover tightly and cook about 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until soupy.

Mince a head of garlic (3 tbsp). Fry it in 1/3 cup onion olive oil on high for about 30 seconds.

Add 150 g roughly chopped coriander leaves, cook another 30 seconds and stir it all into the pot.

Pour into a serving dish, spread with a wooden spatula and cool about 30 minutes; it is served room temperature or cold.

Top with alternating lines of fried bread, pomegranate seeds, crispy onions and coriander leaves; serve more toppings on the side.