Indian Lentils Make a Fantastic and Healthy Meal

If you have no interest in Indian cooking, and Indian flavors, then this blog will not be for you. Personally, Indian flavors just fascinate and intrigue, so every time I discover something new, it is time to celebrate. Just recently I discovered a few new lentils and lentil dishes and set off on a new path of flavors and textures.

My husband and I both (thankfully, both!) love Indian flavors. I am the more adventurous of us two, and tend to look for more and more interesting foods and new flavors. When I discovered various new lentils and the confusion surrounding them as far as what they are called and the things that get lost in translation, I wrote a blog about how to sort through all these terms. Click here to read about untangling all of those interesting lentils and sorting through the confusion. 

Mixed Lentil Dal (note the rose-colored rice)

I had been using the little red lentils (more like salmon colored) for many years now, and really loved the one "dahl" dish I made with them. Then, discovering some dishes with other lentils I had possibly read about, but had no knowledge of, I set about understanding all I could. Once becoming conversant with the different split and peeled lentils, or "dals," and tasting many of them on their own, to better recognize their flavors, I am now mixing and making some of my own dishes. Our diet has changed since June, with both of us losing weight, and I have worked to create a diet filled with vegetables and high-fiber lentils. I had been following recipes from a couple of books I have, and wrote about some of these recipes in that same blog about untangling lentil terminology.

Mixed Lentil Dal

After trying some of these recipes, I set about using some of the lentils in dishes with my own spin. I generally add in lots more vegetables to the dish to make it as nutritious as possible. I serve my lentil dishes with rice, but I have been using whole grain rices such as brown rice, Wehani rice, red rice, burgundy rice, etc. Most of these are available from either Lotus Foods or Lundberg. I buy these through either Amazon or Vitacost. The red rices cook up to a deep pinkish rose color, and make quite the contrast with the yellow of the lentil dishes, as seen in the photos here.

In the process of experimentation, I came up with a combination that just tasted so good to both of us that I have to share. I made it with a combo of 

• Toor Dal (split peeled pigeon peas), 
• Masoor Dal (split, peeled "red" lentils), 
• Moong Dal (split, peeled mung beans) and 
• Urad Dal (split, peeled black gram). 

Common flavoring ingredients, added once the lentils are cooked, are such things as onion, garlic, ginger (sort of the trinity of Indian flavors!), mustard, cumin and coriander seeds. Other possible additions are such things as curry leaves, asafoetida, green chilies and tomatoes. I used most of these in my Mixed Lentil Dal, and added in some other vegetables, mainly red bell pepper, cauliflower and kale.

Four Dals Used in Mixed Lentil Dal

My husband is not a lover of most vegetables, but I am finding that when presented in certain ways, he will tolerate them. Neither if us ever really ate kale, but it has become a staple in our diets of late. Adding finely chopped kale to most soups, stews and lentil dishes really makes kale easy to eat and like. Plus, the health benefits are astounding! Kale is high in lutein. Kale, combined with lentils, makes a highly complementary nutritional balance, as each contains nutrients the other does not have. Kale is great for cardiovascular health and improved cholesterol levels. It is high in Vitamins K, A and C, as well as manganese and copper. All this, plus it helps with the body's detoxification system, as well.

Cauliflower, which I love and he hates, can be grated finely and added into lentils (and sometimes soup), where it completely disappears and is consumed unnoticed. To date, I cannot get my husband to eat cauliflower in any state where it resembles the vegetable that it is! Again, cauliflower has many of the same benefits of kale (such as lutein, vitamin C and heart healthy), plus a few others of its own, so getting some of these vegetables into our diet, no matter the form, is healthier. Though it is advised to steam cauliflower, as boiling leaches many nutrients, since we are eating the cooking liquid, in the form of soup or the lentil dish, I feel we are getting most of the nutrient value. 

Amen. Off the soapbox!

Mixed Lentil Dal

Mixed Lentil Dal

Serves about 4, as a meal with rice 

⅓ cup toor dal
⅓ cup masoor dal
⅓ cup moong dal
2 tablespoons urad dal
½ teaspoon turmeric
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1½ tablespoons cooking oil or pure mustard oil
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds, whole
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, whole
¼ teaspoon asafetida, optional
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1½ tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1 - 3 green chilies, minced, optional
1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped

½ red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup grated, fresh cauliflower
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, ground
¾ teaspoon salt
1½ cups fresh kale, chopped finely

Set all the lentils into a bowl and wash repeatedly, until the water drains off mostly clear. Place the drained lentils into a saucepan and cover with about 6 cups of water and the turmeric. Bring to boil, skimming off the thick foam as it accumulates, reduce heat to low and cook for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the lentils are soft and beginning to fall apart.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet and add in the oil. If using mustard oil, allow the oil to come to smoking point before proceeding. Have the pot's lid at hand. Add in the mustard and cumin seeds and quickly cover with the lid. Allow all the snapping and crackling to subside, then remove the lid and add in the asafoetida, if using. Stir well, then add the onions. Over medium heat, cook the onions, stirring often until very soft. Add the garlic and ginger with chilies if using and cook for about 3 minutes more. Add in the tomatoes, red bell pepper, cauliflower and the coriander seeds and cook until most of the liquids from the tomatoes have cooked out.

Once the lentils are cooked through, add the mixture from the skillet into the lentils along with the salt and the kale. Cook for 5 minutes more to meld flavors. Taste for salt. Serve with rice.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Another Use for Lentils

A week or so ago, I came across a recipe while perusing Facebook. I clicked on the link and found it to sound quite interesting. I love lentils, with their earthy flavor and texture. The fact that the recipe also called for walnuts just made it all that much better. The recipe itself came from Vegetarian Times, and I printed it off to try it out. 

Lentil, Arugula and Walnut Side Dish

Baby Arugula

We were having pork chops for dinner that day, and since my husband has not seemed to want to eat any dish with lentils as the main ingredient, along with the fact that he hates walnuts made me figure this side would be just for me alone. The recipe as it was written was to be used as a spread, meant for baguette slices, crostini or pita breads. To me, it sounded like those options would be lovely, but I was thinking more on the lines of a side dish. I happened to have lentils, walnuts and even baby arugula, so I went for it.  

Brown Lentils

I changed a few things as I went along, mostly in the method. The recipe called for "3 tablespoons vegetable broth", which I found slightly ludicrous. I added a little more salt, instead. My tolerance for cumin is low. While the amounts called for in the recipe were ¼ teaspoon of ground cumin, and ⅛ teaspoon ground coriander, both of which are quite tiny amounts - still, I switched the amounts, instead using ¼ teaspoon coriander and ⅛ teaspoon cumin. I always prefer to use whole spices, so this is another place where I changed the instructions. I also added ¼ teaspoon of Aleppo pepper. I have not had much experience using Aleppo pepper so far, and my knowledge of amounts to use is minimal. I found that ¼ teaspoon was not even detectable, so next time I will use ½ teaspoon. 

In all, I feel I streamlined the recipe quite a bit, using the food processor to do all the work outside of cooking the lentils. I really love the recipe. I love all the ingredients, so that is a plus. If you choose to use this on bread slices as an appetizer portion, please feel free. It was wonderful as a side dish. Obviously, the recipe is vegetarian and gluten free, so it fits with most diets. If you wish to see the original recipe at Vegetarian Times, please click on the link above in the first paragraph. This is what I did:

Lentil, Arugula and Walnut Side Dish

Lentil, Arugula and Walnut Side Dish

Serves 3 - 4

¾ cup lentils
1½ cups water
¼ cup shelled walnuts
1 teaspoon Fleur de Sel (or other coarser sea salt)
¼ teaspoon coriander seed (or ground)
¼ to ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or other pepper
⅛ teaspoon cumin seed (or ground)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small clove garlic
3 cups baby arugula leaves

In a medium saucepan bring to boil the lentils and water, reduce heat and cover. Cook the lentils for about 35 to 40 minutes, until tender. If a small amount of water remains in the pan, drain and set this cooking liquid aside.

While the lentils cook, place the walnuts, salt, coriander seeds (or ground), cumin seeds (or ground) and Aleppo pepper in the bowl of a food processor and process until fine. Add in the garlic and olive oil and process until somewhat smooth, scraping sides as necessary. Once the mixture is fine, add in the arugula leaves and pulse to chop finely, but not puree. Add this mixture to the drained lentils in a bowl and toss to mix completely. If the mixture is too dry, add in some of the reserved cooking liquid, or water, if necessary. Serve tepid.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.