The Perfect Food-Lentils
In my opinion, nothing tops lentils. They are nutritious, a comfort food, inexpensive, shelf-stable, and absolutely delicious. They’re my dopamine plug.
July 30, 2020
Here’s how I make them. And as always, remember you can swap out herbs and spices and prepare them to your liking. This makes about 8 servings. Scroll to the very bottom for just the recipe.
The usual flavor characters: I like to use some sort of spicy pepper, and jalapeño, being that it’s my favorite pepper, seems to always be it. Onion and garlic are a must in my book. I had a green pepper so I decided why not. To be honest, I’m not sure how much flavor it adds, but I’m not mad at it. It’s another veggie which means more goodness, so let’s go. And cilantro, because it imparts the most delicious flavor; a favorite when I stew anything.
1 1/2 jalapeños - One of them small diced, and the half of another simply left whole but cut in half. You’ll see in a bit.
Half of a medium onion (Any kind on hand.)- small dice
8 garlic cloves - minced
Half of a large bell pepper- small dice
1/4 bunch of cilantro- left intact
I like to keep the veins and seeds of any of my spicy peppers. They also hold heat so I want to maintain as much as possible. It’s a personal preference, but if you’re looking for less spice, then remove all the pepper guts, or omit them all together. The dish will still be great.
Dice and mince the rest of your flavor base.
In a medium size pot, on medium-low heat, sauté your onion, garlic, peppers, and that half of a jalapeño until soft. Season with salt and black pepper. I put the half jalapeño like that so that I can add more spice but with less intensity. I got this idea from observing Haitian cooking where I often see whole habaneros stewing away with all the other goodness cooking in the pot.
Add two cups red lentils. Red are my favorite, but brown lentils also have a special place in my heart. They both cook and taste very different, but either could work in this recipe. The red breakdown and become porridge-like and velvety. These are similar to an Indian daal. While the brown keep their shape and have a richer flavor.
Add 6 cups of water, stir around, and throw in your cilantro stems and all. Stems have a bunch of flavor.
Now, put a lid on to contain the heat and cook those lentils faster. If for whatever reason you don’t have a lid that fits your pot you could use aluminum foil instead or a plate as long as no heat is escaping. You should be smelling something amazing at this point.
You can maintain the heat at medium-low as long as you see it boiling. Be careful that it’s not boiling too hard because the lentils will stick more aggressively to the bottom of the pot. Stir and scrape the bottom every 5 minutes or so. If you feel the bottom building up with a lot of lentils (It will feel gunky.), lower the heat a bit and keep stirring and scraping. They should take about 25 minutes to cook all the way through.
Beware: When you remove the lid to stir, the lentils will jump out at you. They’re hot, so move fast.
While those are stewing away, here’s something I like to throw in. Some turmeric. Add 1.5 tablespoons so it can lend a bit of that bright, beautiful neon color it imparts. I also want to highlight how beautiful I think this packaging is. I like the rectangle glass bottle and the La Flor logo. Here in NY this brand is very popular.
Okay, so, I need to dedicate an entire post to THIS one ingredient. Chicken flavor. While it doesn’t actually have chicken anything and is vegan as far as I can tell, it adds the most delicious chickenesque flavor to everything it cooks with. An umami note that makes everything just right. I find this at my local Asian grocery store. Add 2.5 tablespoons.
This is the brand of red lentils I often use, but I don’t really find a difference between brands or if I get them bulk.
Clean as you cook! Nothing’s better than minimal cleanup after cooking and eating.
Make sure you’re stirring and scraping the bottom of the lentil pot!
While the lentils are still doing their thing, cook up a pot of rice. I’m cooking jasmine rice here because it’s my staple kind of rice. I love how fragrant it is.
In a medium size pot, place 3 cups of rice and rinse and drain until the water is no longer cloudy. This helps remove some of the starch and helps create grainier rice. Add 3 cups and a 1/8 cup of fresh water to your drained rice and let it come up to a boil. I don’t add salt or anything to my rice. I like it just the way it is, but do as you will. Some salt and garlic would be nice. Once it comes to a boil stir once, removing any stuck bits from the bottom, and immediately put it on low heat and place a lid on. Do not open the lid or stir the rice for at least 10 minutes. Let it be! After 10 minutes check on it and do a quick stir and evaluate if it needs more time or not. It may need a minute or two. Do not over stir because it will become mushy from the starches being released. Once it’s ready, with a fork move the rice around delicately separating the grains.
Now, go stir those lentils again!
Lentils are still going….
Make yourself a nice, refreshing salad. The contrast of something hot and stewy with something fresh and crispy is so enjoyable.
Once your lentils are close to being done they should look like this. Thick and cloudy.
A good test to see that they’re ready other than doing a taste test is the lentils should coat your spoon. They should look soupy but with some body. The lentils break down and the bits that are still intact should be completely soft.
This is your opportunity to adjust the seasoning and add water if they’re too thick or cook longer if too runny.
There you have it. A perfect meal.
The Full Recipe- Red Lentils & Rice
-Serves 8-
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 jalapeños - One of them small diced, and the half of another simply left whole but cut in half. Veins and seeds left if you want more heat.
Half of a medium onion (Any kind on hand.)- small dice
8 garlic cloves - minced
Half of a large bell pepper- small dice
1/4 bunch of cilantro- left intact
Salt - 2 tablespoons or to taste
Black pepper- 2 tablespoons or to taste
2 cups red lentils
6 cups of water
1.5 tablespoons turmeric
2.5 tablespoons chicken flavor
3 cups white rice
3 and 1/8 cups water
Salad ingredients- whatever you want!
DIRECTIONS
In a medium size pot, on medium-low heat, sauté your onion, garlic, peppers, and the half of a jalapeño until soft. Season with salt and black pepper.
Add the lentils, 6 cups of water, cilantro, turmeric and chicken flavor. Stir everything until combined and place a lid on the pot. If you don’t have lid or one that fits you could use aluminum foil instead or a plate as long as no heat is escaping.
You can maintain the heat at medium-low as long as you see it boiling. Be careful that it’s not boiling too hard because the lentils will stick more aggressively to the bottom of the pot. Stir and scrape the bottom every 5 minutes or so. If you feel the bottom building up with a lot of lentils (It will feel gunky.), lower the heat a bit and keep stirring and scraping. They should take about 25 minutes.
Beware: When you remove the lid to stir the lentils will jump out at you. They’re hot, so move fast.
You’ll know they’re ready when they reach a thick, velvety state. They should coat your spoon. The lentils will be broken down, but the small chucks that are still there should be soft. Refer to the pictures above to see how they should look.
While your lentils cook it the best time to prepare your rice. In a medium size pot, place 3 cups of rice and rinse and drain until the water is no longer cloudy. This helps remove some of the starch and help create grainier rice. Add 3 cups and a 1/8 cup of fresh water to your drained rice and let it come up to a boil. Once it comes to a boil stir once, removing any stuck bits from the bottom and immediately put it on low heat and place a lid on. Do not open the lid or stir the rice for at least 10 minutes. Let it be! After 10 minutes check on it and do a quick stir and evaluate if it needs more time or not. It may need a minute or two. Do not over stir because it will become mushy from the starches being released. Once it’s ready, with a fork move the rice around delicately separating the grains.
Prepare your salad.
Done! EAT! ENJOY!