How to Cook Lentils

Whether summer or winter, it is always a good time to cook lentils for dinner. Lentils are good for your health, and conducive if you are on a vegetarian diet. They are easy to store and cheap to buy. Much cheaper than meat. Keep reading for a way to make a good lentil base which you can then spice a million different ways.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• About 1-2 cups of lentils, depending on how much you want. 2 cups will serve about 4 people.
• 1 onion
• Salt
• Pepper
• All other spices and variations are optional, and we will cover a few here.

1. Take 1-2 cups of lentils and wash them over cold water. It is always a good idea to make sure lentils are washed as sometimes they have small stones or sticks in them. High fiber diets aside, those are things that most people don't want to chew on!
   Once you have washed your lentils, add them to a good sized cooking pot. You want the height of the pot to be at least 2-3 times higher than the the quantity of lentils since the lentils will expand and you are probably going to be adding a lot more ingredients. In general, there is no pot too big.

2. OK, now that you have prepped the lentils and have a pot, you are ready to start cooking. Pour water over the lentils, there is no set rule to this, it depends on how thick or thin you want your lentils, but in general, 2 cups of water for each cup of lentils is a good minimum. Add your water and get your lentils on the boil. While the water is heating, go ahead and chop your onion and add it in. Any way you want to chop it is up to you. Go on...get creative. You can now also add in your salt to taste, just a pinch or two should be plenty if you are not sure. It is a good rule of thumb with any cooking to start with less salt as you can always add more later.

3. These ingredients alone will make a killer base that is good by itself, or is a blank canvas, ready to be spiced up. You can really go anywhere with this, but here are a few ideas to get your juices flowing...

   Spicy Indian Lentils:
   Bring home the flavors of Asia. Add cinnamon, ginger, sambar powder, red chillies, curry leaves, and turmeric powder. (The sambar, red chillies, curry leaves, and turmeric are available at most Indian specialty stores)

   Lentil and Veggies Comfort Soup:
   Great for a cold day, add in some diced potatoes, spinach (or veggie of choice), tomato, and cumin.

   Lentil Pasta Sauce:
   Great if you are on a vegetarian diet. Add in lots of tomato and garlic and then choose from among your favorite pasta sauce spices: basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, or, what the hell? Through in the whole lot. This dish really works, and it is a great way to cut the meat out of the pasta sauce while keeping a good amount of protein in your diet.

Resources

• Foods High in Iron
• Foods High in Vitamin B12
• How to Cook Buckwheat
• How to Cook Millet