i need a dhal (lentil) recipe!

[triona.d.]

Tomatoes in dal really makes a difference, and can be good even in large amounts.... In addition to cummin and lemon sauce (and garlic of course), tomatoes really do the trick for me.

Have you tried making dal with the very small, almost black lentils?

when would you suggest adding the tomatoes if making, say, the basic lentil dahl of banana's at the top of this thread?
triona

[Korn]

Tomatoes are one of the few plants that actually (sometimes) are cooked for a veeeeery long time to get that special taste, and tomatoes have also been mentioned as one of the few plants that contains nutrients that are easier to absorb after cooking, but I guess you can put them in whenever you want. I like the idea of adding raw ingredients in cooked food just before eating it (like small pieces of ginger, for example), but I haven't tried banana's recipe, so my reply would be: try, and let us know what you find out!

[Wildflower]

when would you suggest adding the tomatoes if making, say, the basic lentil dahl of banana's at the top of this thread?
triona

I make that recipe quite often, and I add 1 can (so they are precooked) of diced no salt tomotoes, with their juice at the same time as you combine the lentils and onion mix. So, combine the lentils and onions, add the tomaotes, lemon juice, etc. then cook for 15 more minutes.

As Korn mentioned, tomatoes have more lycopene when cooked, so it is not a bad thing to add canned tomato products to your diet - just make sure they do not have added sugar/salt. If you want to use raw, you could probably add them at the same time, they just won't be quite as cooked. tomotoes take a long while to turn into a canned tomato like consistency.

[Tigerlily]

Can you guys believe I never made this yet?!!

I'm making some this week. Maybe tomorrow?

[triona.d.]

fantastic! i finally tried out the dhal and it was great (the yellow split pea version)...yum! i had some courgette and aubergine in my fridge so i bunged that in and i think it worked! i think i'd prefer it a little more liquidy so that i could maybe ladel it over rice or something. i had it with some naan but it was all a little too stodgy...might just have a big bowl of it on its own next time!

[Wildflower]

Can you guys believe I never made this yet?!!

I'm making some this week. Maybe tomorrow?

No, I can't believe it Tigerlily! Did you make it yet?

[Tigerlily]

I did and it wasn't incredible. Maybe I didn't make it properly?

[Wildflower]

hmmm....

I don't know, which recipe did you use? What didn't you like about it?

[Tigerlily]

I made the red lentil dhal. I didn't say I didn't like it. I just wasn't dying with food orgasms from it or anything.

[Yoggy]

LOL food orgasms!

I remember the first time I made it, I was tasting it while it was still cooking and wasn't impressed at all with how it tasted. I decided it probably didn't have enough spices, so I added more turmeric and chili powder. I ended up adding almost 4x what was stated in the recipe, as well as some salt, and then it tasted really good. I guess because it's mostly water in there, you have to add a lot of spices to really taste them.

[Tigerlily]

Yeah, maybe I'll play with the portions a bit if I decide to make it again.

[Dreamer]

i often cook lentils. and they come out just fine.

here's what i do:

1. Put lentils in a pot of cold water and make sure they're covered by at least 5x more water then lentils. More water means a 'longer-to-boil' time and a more thourghly cooked product. Do not use a lid.

2. Adjust the stove to 'high' and wait till the water boils then immediately then turn it down to gently simmer. Do not use a lid.

3. When they seem almost ready turn the stove off and just let them soak in the pot on an OFF burner. Put a lid on top.

4. Keep checking until done.

5. Eat your wonderful lentils.


All the beans i've cooked seem to work by this method with one exception: Some require overnight soaking at room temperature.

[StarShine]

I cook my lentils in a steamer and they come out perfect every time. No soaking is required.

1. 1 cup Lentils : 1 cup Water
2. Steam until desired texture is reached (20-50 minutes depending on the steamer)

You'll need a steamer to do it. A good reason to buy a steamer - Steamers are econimical, energy efficient, and throughly cook food fast. Only $30 (CDN) for a good one. I have a Black & Decker.

[Wildflower]

hmmm. when i make it there really isn't any water left, i cook it down very thick. could have somethig to do with it I suppose.

[Tigerlily]

I haven't made it since my first time. Maybe I'll wait until I try it at a restaurant to see how it's suppose to taste.

[Smoothie]

i make mine very thick - and with garlic, onion, aubergine, courgette, small pieces of potato and a lot of spices! it's amazing - especially served with rice.

[Smoothie]

of yeah - and sometimes I use 1/2 water 1/2 coconut milk/cream - THAT'S good enough for food orgasms!

[Korn]

Here are some lentil tricks I've picked up here and there:

Cook them with cumin and garlic
Use tomatoes to add some depth to the taste
Add some fresh lemon juice
Lentils cook more slowly if they're combined with salt or acidic ingredients, so add these last.
Star anis is a perfect spice for use with lentils
Roasted (dry or using oil) Indian spices is brilliant with lentils
Chopped carrots and onions are good in a lentil dish (if you put an onion or a large piece of onion in the lentils while cooking it, you can remove it before you serve it)
Try adding light tahini, tamari (soy sauce), and/or coconut milk - in any combination
A little red chili and roasted, brown mustard seeds are great in lentils
If you cook a little extra lentils, you can use some of it as a thickener in other meals you are making (eg. in a soup)

[Pob]

We've been using them as a straight replacement for mince (in cottage pie, lasagne, spag bol, etc).
Take a mixture of lentils (red, green and puy), and cook in just sufficient boiling water for 30 minutes. Then mix into your sauce and use as normal.

[puffin]

I use lentils like that pob, i dont like mince so the lentils bulk it out well.

[absentmindedfan]

My new favourite pasta sauce;
cook red lentils, red onion and garlic until soft. Add seasoning to taste and blend before serving over wholewheat spaghetti.
It is fast, filling and delicious.

[aubergine]

My fave too

[Smoothie]

i LOVE red lentils. ecspecially in dhal. and in lasagna. it's one of my fav foods. i like lentils cooked with onions, garlic, potato, spinach, tomatoes and coconutmilk. sooo good. and the coconutmilk makes it so much richer.

[flying plum]

I have a dhally question, and this seemed like a good place to ask it (although i'm not promising to make sense...). usually, when i cook red lentils, i like them so they're still a bit distinguished...like, not a sauce, but much lentilly mush.

however, a few weeks ago i thought i'd try to make dhal look more like it does when i comes from the takeaway, so i'd cook it for longer so it was more like a puree. however, soemthing really odd happened...i'm guessing i over cooked it. i ended up with a really thick lentilly thing, and all the water rose up above it in the pan. the lentils themselves tastes almost powdery. i haven't cooked them this long since, but i was wondering what i might have done wrong. too much water? too long to cook? or should i do how i used to, then puree it with a hand blender?

amanda

[Rvn]

I bought about a pound of red lentils a year ago and I just discovered it this week. I had few recipes to prepare from red lentils so seems like I absolutely forgot about it. The only one I knew a week back was
Red lentils dip
Made from red lentils, tomato-sauce /or ketchup/, carrots all cooked and blended with spices and sugar.
I did not really like it, it was okay, but I never imagined lentils sweet (if anyone wills I will copy the exact recipe). But yesterday I made some research and thanks to you guys I found out it can be added to lasagna or in a soup, so i combined this one

Red lentils soup
1 cup red lentils
1/2 cup dried apricot, halved
about 15 slices of carrot (half-inch wide)
kurkuma, sugar, koriander, bit of chili
water

First I added the carrot and apricot to the water, after 5-10 minutes lentils as it cooks faster. At the end I added 1 tbsp starch also. I think it is even better if cooked in soy-milk and/or with coconut.
This one is based on the Moroccon lentil soup, but the dried fruit just made it lovely.
It would be so nice to see other red lentil recipes as today this is the only one I can made with my red lentils.

[twinkle]

I like soup made by:

chopping and frying one or two onions with a bit of chilli powder, and some ground cumin and coriander
Adding some vegetable stock and lentils
cooking for about 15 minutes then adding some cauliflower florets and coconut cream, cook until cauliflower is tender.
Add a squeeze of lemon juice before serving.

Lentil rissoles are nice and easy to make - my mum has a recipe which is basically fried onion, cooked mushed up red lentils, breadcrumbs and lots of fresh herbs of your choice. mix it all together, make it into rissole/burger shapes, coat in a little seasoned flour and fry up - they can easily be kept warm in the oven while you make other stuff as well.

[harpy]

Hello - here's a simple one that you can make with any kind of lentils. It's nice with baked potatoes, pasta or just bread and salad. I don't normally bother with the vinegar.

1 cup lentils
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped or sliced
2 bay leaves
pinch each of dried thyme and dried marjoram
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 cups red wine
1 1/2 cups water
salt
wine or sherry vinegar

Rinse the lentils well and cover them with hot water. Warm the olive oil in a saucepan and add the herbs. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions have begun to color. Stir in the tomato puree; then add the wine. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Drain the lentils and add them to the wine with the water, and lightly salt. Return to a boil; then lower the heat, cover the pan, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. When the lentils are done add a dash of vinegar.

The soup with apricots sounds good - is kurkuma the same as turmeric?

[Rvn]

Thanks, I like these. They look pretty great, so this will be a red lentils weekend.

The soup with apricots sounds good - is kurkuma the same as turmeric?

Aye, I guess so, kurkuma is turmeric - actually I used curry powder. I guess next time I add some ginger and lemon, too.

[bean]

What is a good substitute for garlic in a recipe? (Can't eat garlic)
Any non-garlic dahl recipes to share?

I had a wonderful non-garlic mung dal from our Wedge coop in Minneapolis. But, their delicious recipes are a secret.

I've been vegan for only 4 months and I absolutely love it!

[bean]

Here's an easy lentil recipe that I love:

Green Lentil Soup

This lentil soup recipe is from Iltay. The list of ingredients may seem short, but that's the beauty of this recipe - simple and delightful.

* 2 cups green lentils, rinsed and picked over to remove debris
* 8 cups vegetable stock, or more as desired (2 1-qt boxes of Imagine brand)
* 2 bay leaves
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper (I love it with lots of pepper!)

Combine lentils, stock and bay leaves in the pot and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat, partially cover and simmer 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Remove the bay leaves, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve hot. Serves 4-6.

[bean]

Looking for non-garlic dahl recipes.
What is a good garlic substitute or is one even needed?
Can you help me please? thank you!

[Ruby Rose]

Have a Google for Jain recipes, which are made without garlic, onions and potatoes for religious reasons.

Here's a Jain site, but I didn't see a dhal recipe specifically on it: http://www.bawarchi.com/cookbook/jain.html

[Haniska]

Hi bean! I would think that leek onion or shallot would be appropiate.

[cvC]

If you want to investigate Indian recipes free of onion and garlic, then I suggest you google "vedic cuisine". I mainly follow the ancient pupils of Pythagorus in abstaining from beans and so on - I think that ancient Egyptian priests also abstained from them and peanuts are incidentally a legume - but there are two "dal" recipes on this page from the recipe section of a Hare Krishna site:

http://www.iskconbangalore.org/conte...tani.asp#mooli

This is from an interesting article I saw about garlic (and other plants of the alliaceous family) a while ago and which appears to give scientific backing to the warnings of Indian and Taoist sages about it:

"Garlic is toxic to humans because its sulphone hydroxyl ions penetrate the blood-brain barrier and are poisonous to brain cells.(1) For precisely the same reason the garlic family of plants has been widely recognized as being harmful to dogs.(2)
As far back as the 1950s it was known that garlic reduced reaction time by two to three times when consumed by pilots taking flight tests. This is because the toxic effects of garlic desynchronize brain waves."

http://www.rense.com/general76/Dpi.htm

[bean]

Thank you Haniska!

[Catie]

I thought this would probably be the best place to ask rather than starting a new thread.

I went to an indian resturant the other day and had some really good dhal. It was really thin and quite brown in colour, I've ben trying to recreate it but all the recipes I've tried have given me a sort of spicy mush where the lentils break down but they taste really starchy and heavy.

So I was wondering if anyone had a good recipe for a dhal that comes out really thin or knows what type of lentils I should be using to get a nice bown dhal.

Thanks!

[bean]

Thank you to both cvC and Ruby Rose for your reply and excellent links! Your input is appreciated. Regards, Bean

[fondducoeur]

I just made the red lentil dahl stickydate posted at the beginning of this thread. It was excellent

[twist]

this is a recipe I use for simple lentil curry.

1 cup of lentils
1-2 teaspoon curry powder
veg stock
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 onion


firstly put the lentils in a seperate pan after rinsing to cook, then as that's happening...

1) chop the onion and crush the garlic, gently warm in some olive oil
2) add the curry powder
3) stir for a few minutes, add a little veg stock just to keep the pan moist.
4) then once the lentils are almost cooked, drain (rinse again if required) and add to the onions, garlic and curry powder.
5) add some more stock until lentils are covered, and continue to cook down until the curry is at a consistency you like.

This is one of my favourite and quickest meals- lovely served with wholegrain rice and salad, or roasted vegetables.

[Festered]

I do that but minus the garlic, and add roast veggies , tinned tomatoes and a'meat substitute' or soya mince, to make curry.

[penhaligon]

I made a Tagine with mine (= it was tasty- I used a recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance but changed the ingredients a bit, added sweet potato and peppers.

[Roxy]

I like soup made by:

chopping and frying one or two onions with a bit of chilli powder, and some ground cumin and coriander
Adding some vegetable stock and lentils
cooking for about 15 minutes then adding some cauliflower florets and coconut cream, cook until cauliflower is tender.
Add a squeeze of lemon juice before serving.

Lentil rissoles are nice and easy to make - my mum has a recipe which is basically fried onion, cooked mushed up red lentils, breadcrumbs and lots of fresh herbs of your choice. mix it all together, make it into rissole/burger shapes, coat in a little seasoned flour and fry up - they can easily be kept warm in the oven while you make other stuff as well.

This soup sounds really nice Twinkle. I think I might give that a go.

[herbwormwood]

this is a recipe I use for simple lentil curry.

1 cup of lentils
1-2 teaspoon curry powder
veg stock
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 onion


firstly put the lentils in a seperate pan after rinsing to cook, then as that's happening...

1) chop the onion and crush the garlic, gently warm in some olive oil
2) add the curry powder
3) stir for a few minutes, add a little veg stock just to keep the pan moist.
4) then once the lentils are almost cooked, drain (rinse again if required) and add to the onions, garlic and curry powder.
5) add some more stock until lentils are covered, and continue to cook down until the curry is at a consistency you like.

This is one of my favourite and quickest meals- lovely served with wholegrain rice and salad, or roasted vegetables.

I use red lentils in a lot of my curries, I just add whatever vegetables are around. If you have access to creamed coconut or coconut milk its extra nice.

[Roxy]

I love coconut milk in curries!

[BeansnLens]

boil 400 grams brown lentils and cool.
saute onion, garlic, ginger with lemon juice
add spices as desired. I like ethiopian spice mix with yellow curry and chilli powder. add a tablespoon baking powder or egg replacer. Use oil to control consistency. Once you are able to make small 4.5 cm wide patties turn skillet with small amount of oil to medium heat. fry until golden. enjoy with salsa or soygurt.

[fondducoeur]

Yum. I love lentils, and this sounds like a tasty way to enjoy them
What is in your ethiopian spice mix?

[Kitteh]

Sounds delicious!

[BeansnLens]

Im not sure....I will try to find out what exactly is in the Ethiopian spice mix and re-post.

[Kimberlily1983]

I love coconut milk in curries!

Me, too! Yum...

And I love red lentils...

[Cumin]

I was surprised there had been no new recipe threads in this section this year, so I thought I would add one of my favourites.
Unlike traditional haggis which is cooked in a bag (of entrails - yeuck), this needs to be baked in a good stout dish (e.g. porcelain, pyrex, iron) with a lid. Although it seems a little complicated, it's worth doing the separate parts as described to get the correct texture.

Ingredients:
4oz porridge oats
4oz mixed chopped almonds and cashews
2oz vegan margerine (e.g. pure organic)
1 large carrot
2oz Red + 2oz Green Lentils - OR - 4oz mushrooms - OR - a bit of each to make up 4oz. (Will work OK with pretty much any lentil combination)
1 large onion
can of kidney beans
2oz veg suet
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon (or 1 des spoon)
1 teaspoon each of sage, thyme and basil

Process:
1. Cook lentils in water for 40mins. If you start with approx double the volume of water to lentils then you
should have a small amount of water left at the end. This will be very tasty so is important for the haggis.

2. Toast chopped nuts in a frying pan for 5-10mins

3. Melt 1/2 marg in heavy pan. Add oats and nuts and suet, stir and cook over medium heat for 3 mins.
Transfer to a bowl.

4. Chop carrot, mushrooms (if using them) and onion in food processor. Finely copped but not to a mush.
Then add kid beans and chop briefly so not chopped too small.

5. Melt other half marg in a pan, added chopped mixture, stir and cook for 2 mins over medium heat.
Gently frying all together.

6. Add herbs, pepper, juice. Stir and cook for further minute.
Make sure pepper is well distributed through mixture.

7. Add oat + nut mixture, plus lentils (if using them). Mix well and cook for further 5 mins.
Should have consistency of stuffing or very thick porridge.

8. Transfer to preheated oven proof dish (e.g. pyrex) with lid and cook in oven at 180-200 for 40 mins.

Should go brown and slightly crispy around the sides and top when cooked.

Nice served with Steamed Cabbage and veggy gravy.