Bobby’s Favorite Lentils
Entree, Vegetables Indian Boiled
October 9, 2015
My new favorite meal is these lentils. I've been eating them almost daily for the last few months. I will typically put 1/4 cup of basmati in a bowl with 1/2 cup lentils and eat that every three hours. It's very filling and a great way to lose or maintain weight loss.
- Cook: 35 mins
-
35 mins
35 mins
- Yields: 5 cups
Ingredients
Boil the Lentils
5 whole cardamom pods (black or green)
1 tbsp red pepper powder (sweet paprika, hot cayenne, or a combination)
1/4 cup diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
Aromatics
1 tsp black mustard seeds, whole
1 tsp fenugreek seeds, whole (optional)
1 tsp fennel seeds, whole (optional)
1 piece of ginger about the size of the garlic
2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
Directions
Put the lentils in the water with all the other ingredients, bring to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so the lentils don't stick to the pan.
In a small pan over medium high heat, add the olive oil and the seeds until the mustard seeds begin to snap and pop, then add the ginger, garlic, onion, and carrot. Cook for a few minutes, then dump into boiling lentils.
Lentils are cooked when they are soft and have absorbed most of the water. When the lentils are done, turn off the heat, correct seasoning, and add the spinach and basil, stirring to wilt them, and serve with basmati rice as a side dish for grilled meat, as a humble main course, or put into a mason jar and eat it at work every day microwaved for 1.5 mins.
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When reheating, water down the lentils to make it into a soup
Add a minced raw sweet potato to the lentils
Substitute red lentils and reduce the water to 3 cups. Red lentils cook in half the time and make it more of a paste like refried beans or mashed potatoes
Substitute black lentils and cook a little longer. Black lentils are more firm and keep their shape.