red lentils

[fedda]

Hello, could anyone suggest tasty recipies with red lentils, please? Thank you.

Boil lentils as it states on packet, meanwhile fry onion, garlic clove is you like and grate lots of strong cheddar cheese. The mix it all up perhaps with a wisked egg to bind it and bake in oven for 20-30 minutes.

Fry onion and garlic in olive oil, add celery/coutgette/peppers/herbs/anything you fancy. When softish, add red lentils, fry for a couple of mins, add a little water and a tin of chopped tomatoes. Simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season and serve with pasta. I whizz the sauce for small and fussy people.

Thank you. Can I boil red lentils and mash them with butter as an accompaniment to meat dishes?

I suppose so. I'd definitely cook them with onion and garlic though, maybe a bit of cumin as well.

Thank you. when my husband was vegetarian he had lentils cooked in so many ways but he has forgotten how. Any other suggestions would be very welcome. Thank you.

I always chuck a handful of red lentils into veggie soup.

Don't have any other useful recipes to hand I'm afraid but will be watching this thread with interest!

Yes, many people suggest to use lentils in soups and i would but my husband hardly ever eats soup so I was hoping for some interesting main course dishes. he is a very good cook and I'd love to cook something really interesting for him and at the moment he fancies red lentils. i still have time as I'm planning the dish for the weekend.

onions garlic basil couple of tins of chopped toms and lentils. Nice soup!

Boiled lentils for a dahl or sandwich paste

i'd prefer puy lentils as a side dish, tbh. with sage and butter, yum.

Fry onion, carrot, green pepper. Add spices and garlic. Add chopped tomatoes, red lentils, coconut milk. Add any other veggies. Keep it runny as soup. Or add less liquid and keep it like a stew consistency. Serve with rice and hard boiled eggs.

Lot's of good ideas, thank you so much. I'm still loking though for something truly special.

I have a great (and incredibly easy) for spicy red lentil soup.

*Chop one onion, as finely as you can be bothered
*Mince a little fresh ginger (optional)
*Fry together in a large pan in a little oil.

• When onion starts to soften add some spices - if you have separate spices I like to add little ground cumin, a little ground coriander, some garam masala and about 8-10 cardamom pods. If you don't have many of these then just a couple of tsps of curry powder will do fine!

*When onions are completely soft add one can of tinned tomatoes
*Fill empty can full of water and add
*Fill empty can full with red lentils and add those.

*Simmer until lentils are soft.
*Add one can of coconut milk (note - not to be confused with coconut water, also sold in cans. The milk is very thick and creamy, almost like double cream. The water is thin and sometimes drunk or added to punch)
*Heat through.
*Blend if liked, or can be served straight away.

This makes quite a large quantity (enough for about 4-6 I reckon) but it's convenient because everything is in 1 can quantities so no left overs. It freezes well.

It makes a hearty lunch or a light supper, perhaps served with some naan bread?

Sorry, just noticed you don't like soup! However you could almost pass this off as a kind of stew - or serve it with curry and call it daal.

Other ideas, I quite often add a handful to any stews that need extra bulk or thickness. Plus you can also make chili con carne, only substituting red lentils for the meat.

I use them as I would mince. Spag bol, lasagne, chilli etc, not very inspired.

Fedda, I assure you there are not that many 'truly special' things that can be done with red lentils and I'll bet your dh diddn't make them that amazing either. They go well with Asian and Indian spices as suggested by all the earlier posts. Try puy lentils as they are a much more interesting texture and flavour.

Right, not many special things, that means there are some. Well, I'd love to know at least one or two, please.

Well red lentils are usually used to make soups or curries but you don't like soup so you would be best trying to make a curry or you could try this recipe:
Red Lentil Burgers with
Zesty Yoghurt Topping

Serves 5

Ingredients
1 cup red lentils
1 & 1/3 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Garam Marsala
½ medium onion, finely chopped
2 slices bread, crumbled
2 teaspoons chopped almonds
1 tablespoon chopped lemon rind
1 egg, beatenFor Cooking
1 tablespoon olive oil Zesty Yoghurt Topping
1 cup Greek Style Yoghurt
½ cup chopped mint
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon rind
Serve with
Mixed Salad
Kebab Bread

Method

In a saucepan heat stock and add lentils. Cook for 20 minutes over medium, stir to prevent lentils from sticking.

Meanwhile, prepare remaining ingredients.

In a bowl combine burger ingredients. Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Shape into burgers and pan fry for a few minutes on each side.

Prepare Zesty Yoghurt Topping
In a bowl combine ingredients and mix.

Serve Red Lentil burgers with a dollop of Zesty Yoghurt Topping and a mixed salad of tomato, lettuce, cucumber, capsicum, mushrooms with kebab bread.
HTH

I usually just make lentil soup but have just bought Cooking With Daisy and there is a recipe in there which I am going to try out for dts for a little change to what they usually have. Actually there are a lot of good recipes in it. I haven't tried this one yet so can't vouch for it but everything I have cooked from the book so far has been a big hit, dh even ate the pea soup which he normally wouldn't go near.

Veggie Spag Bol
For the sauce:
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stick of celery
1 red pepper, deseeded
2 tbsp olive oil
100g red lentils
400g can tomatoes
600ml vegetable stock
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
To serve:
spaghetti
grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

Prepare & roughly chop veg, stick them in a food processor & whiz until they are finely chopped. Heat oil in a large saucepan and fry the chopped veg about 8 minutes until soft. Stir in lentils, tomatoes, stock, oregano and cinnamon. Bring to boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Season if desired and simmer a further 5 minutes.
Serve with pasta.

The recipe says this will do for 2 adults and 2-3 kids. It also freezes well if you wanted to do batches.

Like I said the book is really good, full of uncomplicated family meals. The recipes states that if you have very young children you could puree the sauce for them after cooking.

fedda, with the possible exception of carmenere's burgers, there probably aren't any truly special red lentil recipes. they make wonderful soups and dahl but because they've had their skins taken off they go very mushy quite quickly. have you thought about flat green lentils? I've stolen this recipe from someone called Jenn who posted this on my blog. it sounds really yummy. and as i say, boiled and drained puy lentils, tossed in butter and sage count as truly special in my book.

Pecan Lentil Burger

3/4 cup uncooked green lentils
3/4 cup pecans
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 teasppon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon chili flakes
3 tablesppons olive oil
3/4 cup bread crumbs (may use wheatless bread such as spelt, or any kind of wheatless subsitute)
1 egg (optional-I've made it without and they were fine)

Cook lentils according to package directions until tender...approx 25 minutes. Drain.

Roast pecans at 300 - 325 for 10-15 minutes. (Use your own discretion with temperature and timing because I find the pecans can burn fast) Set aside.

In food processor, mince garlic;add pecans, mince;add lentils, spices, bread crumbs and olive oil. Puree until dough-like. Put mixture into big bowl and work in egg if you choose to. Form into patties and fry on pan with a bit of oil.

thank you very much, everybody. The thing is my husband fancies red lentils, no soup, no stew, no curry with them just as a tasty side dish he would enjoy so I'm still searching...

this sounds to me like a modern day version of spinning straw into gold!

Oh, dear, does it really?

I make red lentils like this sometimes:

Bring lentils to boil, add some garlic powder, ginger powder, turmeric powder and chili powder. Lower heat and cover lentils, let them cook on very low heat until they are soft and edible, then add salt.

Meanwhile, put a block of tamarind in a bowl, add boiling water and let it soften for 1/2 hr - 45 mins. Break it up and then strain the water. Add this water to the lentils gradually, tasting as you go to get the right flavour - should have a slight edge of bitterness. Cook a bit more.

Then add some chopped fresh coriander and a few chopped green chillies (if you like it spicy).

To finish, fry some cumin seeds in about a dessertspoon of olive oil, and add these with the oil to the lentils once they start popping.

Does it have to be red lentils? here in Spain we have a lovely dish called Lentejas [lentils] which is brown lentils in a sort of gravy, with chorizo and a type of black pudding. If he's interested I will hunt down a recipe.

Can I just have a quick hijack on the subject of lentils. What are puy lentils? I have red lentils and also "continental lentils" from Asda. What are they?