The best thing you ever did with lentils.

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paora-tm, Jun 10, 11:36am
After reading about the health benefits of lentils I bought some last week. I could only find green lentils at my local supermarket - are they usually so difficult to find or is my supermarket useless? Anyway I did make some soup which was edible but very uninteresting. Anybody have a WOW lentil recipe using easily obtainable and inexpensive ingredients?

village.green, Jun 10, 11:39am
Look up Indian vegetarian recipes, there are plenty of lentils and split peas there. I have two recipes, one Greek and one Indian that I cook on a regular basis but I am off to bed now so don't have time to post.

lythande1, Jun 10, 8:07pm
The best thing? Binned them.

wasgonna, Jun 10, 10:40pm
To get the "health benefits" from lentils you probably need to eat a container full each day.

frances1266, Jun 10, 10:40pm
One of my favourite green/Puy lentil recipes is Mudjadarrah (sp) sometimes called Mejadra or something similar. Is simple but delicious. Deb Madison has a good recipe. 101 Cookbooks blog's latest recipe posted sounds good also, based on a Deborah Madison one.

roshu, Jun 10, 11:33pm
A hearty cottage pie thick with vegetables, chilli, garlic etc and a soy sauce gravy all topped with mash and plenty of melted cheese.

ETA: Alison Holst's Meals Without Meat has some great recipes.

bedazzledjewels, Jun 10, 11:56pm
Agree! They have anti nutrients too for many people. Like chickpeas they only taste acceptable when delicious ingredients are added to them.

irenew, Jun 11, 12:34am
There are some really tasty recipes with red lentils, like dahl, and various soups. Have a look on google or recipe sites.

davidt4, Jun 11, 12:34am
The only form of lentils I eat is in Dosa, Idli and Uttapam batter, for which the lentils are soaked and fermented. Uttapam are really delicious, very easy to make and I don't have any ill effects from eating them.

winnie15, Jun 11, 4:33am
Threw them out!
I can't eat them

bluetigerrr, Jun 11, 5:27am

bluetigerrr, Jun 11, 5:27am

sossie1, Jun 11, 5:28am
great budget addition to main meals.

antoniab, Jun 11, 5:44am
We eat a lot on lentils - in dhals when having a curry - lentil burgers (which I much prefer to beef burgers even though Im not vegetarian) - sausage and lentil hotpot - lentil salads etc.
They are great also for people cooking on a budget as they can bulk up a mince meal.
P.S - there are lots of different types of lentils (supermarkets usually only stock brown & green) but a Binn Inn type place or Indian grocer would be the best place to find them :)

mottly, Jun 11, 6:07am
we trimmed them up a little bit, and put them in the slug gun to shoot a mouse in the kitchen (didn't bother the mouse btw). had run out of pellets. lol. sorry - but that was the best use I"ve ever found for them.

radark, Jun 11, 6:12am
vegetarian moussaka, dahl, puy lentil salad

dk33, Jun 11, 7:05am
My favourite way is in a salad with bits of feta cheese, salt, pepper, loads of lemon juice and olive oil as a base then add anything else you like such as sundried tomatoes, spring onions, red onion, fresh tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum, raw mushrooms, large handfuls of parsley.

The secret is to chop things to about the same size as the lentils so that each forkful has lots of flavourful ingredients.

daisyhill, Jun 11, 9:57am
This lentil shepherd's pie is delicious - I am not vegetarian but I love it and make it often. A slug of red wine and a dash of Worcestershire sauce bring it to perfection.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/recipes/9932074/Winter-warmer-Tasty-lentil-shepherds-pie

We usually buy puy lentils from Piko or a similar wholefoods store but I think I've seen them in Countdown recently. They must have got different stock for winter.

paora-tm, Jun 12, 6:44am
Well, that's a start. I already googled for recipes, as suggested by people, and ended up making a soup I was really disappointed with!

frances1266, Jun 12, 9:18am
If you print the soup recipe here some of us might be able to tell you what the soup needs to make it tasty. I love lentils, they are tasty and versatile.

kaylfrazer, Jun 15, 6:31am
This one sounds a bit boring, but it is surprisingly good http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lentil-soup/

rainrain1, Jun 15, 6:37am
Put some in your meat casserole

samanya, Jun 15, 6:57am
I have tried a lot of recipes with both chickpeas & lentils over a long time . adventurous & ordinary recipes & I tend to agree with you, they are just 'padding' & I'd rather pad out a meal with fresh vegetables . but I do just love home made hummus . go figure?

cookessentials, Jun 15, 8:17pm
Raw lentil chilli . delicious.

jynx66, Jun 15, 9:17pm
Lentil Burgers

1 cup brown lentils
3 cups water
1 onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons cottage cheese
1 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Salt & pepper
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups dried breadcrumbs

Soak lentils for 2 hours if time permits. Otherwise simmer till tender. Watch carefully to make sure they don't boil dry. Drain if necessary.
Add onion, cottage cheese, marjoram, coriander, salt and pepper.
Beat 1 egg and add, mixing well.
Add enough breadcrumbs to make the mixture manageable. Form into patties, balls or whatever shape you want.
Beat second egg and dip the rissoles then role in remaining breadcrumbs.
Fry till golden.

You can vary the flavour by adding different herbs and spices.