Today’s recipe is about making use of some inexpensive and very basic pantry staples–rice and lentils. If you aren’t familiar with lentils, allow me to introduce you to this amazing little pulse. Lentils are really quite amazing. They are those cute, little, brown, lens shaped things they sell in bags or bins in the grocery store.
Lentils are one of the first domesticated crops. In fact, archeological evidence suggests that humans have been eating lentils since the aceramic neolithic period. (Aceramic = before pottery, which makes me wonder how they cooked their lentils. I’ve searched the internet without success, so if anyone knows the answer to that question, please leave a comment below.)
In addition to being an ancient food, lentils are a great source of lean protein. Thirty percent of the calories in lentils come from protein. In fact, among legumes, their protein content is second only to soy beans and hemp. Dried lentils lack only two of the essential amino acids. Sprouted lentils contain all of the amino acids. Either way, they are also an excellent source of iron. In fact, lentils are full of vitamins and minerals.
Lentils are also an economical choice when it comes to protein. I purchased a one pound bag of lentils at the store for only 79 cents. That’s an incredible bargain. There’s just one problem. I have never been particularly fond of lentils. I admit, the only way I ever ate them was in soup in college, but I never really liked them. I like most other beans and peas, but I never really enjoyed lentils. They were something I endured when they were served, but I didn’t like them. Recently, I had a change of heart.
A colleague of mine brought a crock pot of lentils to work to share. I reluctantly served myself a bowl of her lentils, and was shocked to discover that they were good. I think I even had seconds. They were well seasoned with garlic and toward the end of the cooking time, she added some green beans. I was pleasantly surprised that they were delicious.
Having realized that my prejudice against lentils may have been the result of only having tasted poorly prepared lentils, I began to search for other, tasty, ways to use this wonderful little legume.
The following recipe is what will probably be the first of many lentil recipes, and is based loosely upon an Indian lentil dish called Dal Makhani. It is very loosely based. The addition of rice to this dish makes up for the two missing amino acids.
A word of warning. This recipe is very strong with cumin. I really like cumin; I fell in love with cumin in college when I was avoiding lentils, so I think the cumin is perfect, but if you don’t love cumin as much as I do, then perhaps you might want to decrease the cumin by half.
This makes a great side dish, or it can be served as an entree. The night I made this, we each had a very small piece of lean beef that had been marinated in lemon juice with garlic and olive oil before being grilled We also had a nice green salad with a lemon juice and olive oil dressing. My youngest son, Food Critic, thought that we could have done without the meat.
What will you need to prepare this recipe:
From the Pantry:
- Rice
- Lentils
- Bay Leaves
- Ground Cinnamon
- Cumin Seed
- Salt
- Olive Oil
From the Root Cellar:
- Garlic
This is a great, one dish meal. Give it a try. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.
- ½ cup lentils ($0.24)
- 3½ cups water
- 2 - 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed (if they're large, two will do, if they're smaller, use 3 or (maybe even 4) ($0.18)
- 1 bay leaf ($0.04)
- A pinch of cinnamon (I used a hearty pinch) ($0.02)
- ¾ teaspoon cumin seed (aka whole cumin) ($0.04)
- 1 to 1½ teaspoon salt (to taste) ($0.06)
- 1 cup long grain rice* (basmati works well, but any long grain rice will work) ($0.45)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil. ($0.13)
- Sort through lentils and remove any rocks, twigs, or dirt.
- Rinse them well and cover with 3½ cups water.
- Add garlic, bay leaves, cumin, and cinnamon to pot with lentils.
- Place over heat and bring to a boil.
- Once pot is boiling, cover the pan, and reduce heat to medium.
- Simmer until lentils are tender. This should take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes depending upon the age of your lentils--older lentils take longer to cook.
- When the lentils are tender, but not mushy and falling apart, add salt, rice, and olive oil.
- Stir everything together.
- Bring the pot back to a boil then lower heat and simmer, covered, for 15 - 20 minutes until the rice is cooked and the water absorbed.
- Do not stir again until rice is completely cooked.
- You can leave the pan covered after the stove is turned off for 5 minutes to allow the last bit of the water to be absorbed without worrying that the food will burn.
- Fluff with a fork before serving.
Nutrition information is for an entree sized serving of this dish made with 1 teaspoon of salt.
| Nutrition Facts |
| Amount Per Serving |
|
Calories 289
|
|
% Daily Value
|
|
Total Fat 4.2g
5%
|
|
Saturated Fat 0.6g
3%
|
|
Trans Fat 0.0g
|
|
Cholesterol 0mg
0%
|
|
Sodium 592mg
26%
|
|
Total Carbohydrates 52.4g
19%
|
|
Dietary Fiber 8.1g
29%
|
|
Sugars 0.6g
|
|
Protein 9.7g
|
|
Vitamin D 0%
Potassium 6%
|
|
Calcium 41%
Iron 23%
|
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is calculated using online tools such as those available at cronometer.com or verywellfit.com. We make every attempt to ensure that this information is calculated correctly, but this information should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. In addition, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition-fact sources, databases and the algorithms used. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful. Under no circumstances will PattyCakesPantry.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.
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