Lentils are a unique product rich in protein, vitamins and amino acids at a low calorie content.
It also contains tryptophan, which gives cheerfulness and good mood. It remains only to cook delicious lentils.
Lentil porridge - general principles of cooking
You need to know that on sale you can find four types of lentils. They differ not only in appearance, but also in taste and cooking technology.
Red lentils - it is peeled (that is, freed from the hard shell) grains; It is great for making a stew or porridge. It cooks very quickly, 10-15 minutes, and boils quite pretty. Before cooking it should be thoroughly rinsed.
Green lentils is an unripe bean. It is also sufficient to rinse, but it will cook for at least half an hour.
Black lentils having a pleasant smell is a great option for porridge, soaking it is not required, and it will be ready in 20-25 minutes.
Brown requires soaking, like beans, for at least 12 hours in cold water. After that, it will cook for about 30-40 minutes. The main purpose is soups.
In principle, an exceptionally beautiful French is also on sale. lentils de Puy. It is very tasty and does not cook long, is suitable for any dish, does not require soaking. The main disadvantage is the high price.
For the preparation of porridge from lentils, in general, any kind is suitable, but they usually use red, green or black.
Any of them must be thoroughly washed in two waters, slightly rubbing with your fingers. Pour it into boiling water, during the preparation process it is usually required to remove the foam a couple of times.
Various products can be added to lentil porridge; this cereal crop is quite friendly and combines with almost everything. But still do not get carried away: she has her own pleasant taste.
Ready lentil porridge can be flavored with butter, vegetable or cream, if, of course, you are a dish for pleasure, but not for weight loss: lentil porridge is considered an excellent dietary product.
Recipe 1. Lentil porridge with vegetables
Probably the most popular recipe.
Ingredients
Lentils - Glass
Carrot - 1 root vegetable
Celery, root - 100 g
Turnip - 1 root crop of medium size (you can without it)
Onion - 1 piece
Garlic - 3-5 cloves
Tomatoes - a pair of medium-sized pieces
Corn or Sunflower Oil
Cooking method
Peel the tomatoes, finely chop. Rub celery and carrots, chop onion. Cut turnips into small cubes or grate too. Put everything in a saucepan with oil and a little water and simmer.
For this dish, it is better to take red lentils, but you can use any other. Rinse and boil until cooked.
Put the lentils in vegetables and warm for 2-3 minutes.
When serving, it’s nice to sprinkle porridge with finely chopped parsley.
Recipe 2. Lentil porridge with oyster mushrooms
In this porridge from lentils, in addition to oyster mushrooms, you can, of course, put both mushrooms and forest mushrooms, previously boiled.
Ingredients
Lentils - 1 cup
Oyster mushrooms - 300 g
Garlic - 4 cloves
Any oil
Cooking method
Try black or green for this lentil porridge. It is tastier if the grains are not very boiled.
Cook lentils, then salt.
Wash oyster mushrooms, leave the small ones whole, cut larger ones. If you took champignons, then it is better to cut them with plates. Fry mushrooms with butter in a pan.
Chop the garlic finely with a knife, put it in the mushrooms and fry them all together with stirring for about a minute.
Arrange the lentil porridge on plates and place mushrooms with garlic in the center in a slide.
Recipe 3. Lentil porridge "Lenten"
This porridge from lentils is cooked without oil, it can be added to an already prepared dish if desired.
Ingredients
Any lentils - 1 cup
Garlic - 4 cloves
Tomato paste - 1 tablespoon
Greens (dill, parsley, celery, mint, green onions - to your taste) - a large bunch
For this dish, it is better to take red lentils, but you can use any other.
Cooking method
Boil lentils, add salt, tomato and garlic passed through a press one minute before being ready.
Sprinkle the prepared lentil porridge generously with chopped herbs.
If desired, caraway, sesame, chopped nuts can be added to this dish.
Recipe 4. Old Russian Lentil Porridge
Ingredients
Lentils - 1 cup
Dry porcini mushrooms - a handful
Half onions
Any vegetable oil
Cooking method
Rinse dry mushrooms and soak overnight. Rinse again with cool water and cook in enough water. In the process of cooking, make sure that the mushrooms are not digested and do not boil.
When they are ready, catch them with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl. In the broth, diluting it with water if necessary, put the washed lentils and cook it in the mushroom broth until tender.
Chop the onion finely. If you like onions, then you can not chop it, but cut it into half rings and take it apart into strips.
Cut boiled mushrooms finely enough, put together with onions in a pan with heated oil. Add a couple of tablespoons of mushroom broth and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
When the lentils are cooked, quickly add the mushrooms and onions into it, cover and wrap the pan in a towel so that the porridge from the lentils is swept.
Recipe 5. Pure lentil porridge "Hearty"
Ingredients
Lentils - 1 cup
Chicken Breast - 1 whole without skin
Garlic - 5-6 cloves
Tomato paste - 3 tablespoons
Carrot - One
Cooking method
Any kind is perfect for lentil porridge with chicken, but black is usually chosen, since it boils less.
Skin the chicken breast and cut the fillet. Place the bones and fillets in a pan with water and cook until cooked. Strain the broth in a clean saucepan, bring to a boil, pour the lentils and cook until cooked.
Rub the carrots smaller and stew with tomato paste. Cut boiled fillet into pieces of any size. Combine everything, add the garlic passed through the press and keep the porridge from the lentils on the fire for another minute.
Recipe 6. Lentil porridge with meat
For this dish, it is better to choose green lentils, or even brown.
Ingredients
Meat (pork, or you can even take a calf heart) - 0.5 kg
Lentils - 1 cup
Garlic - 5-6 cloves
Greens - to taste
Tomato sauce like "Krasnodar" - at will and to taste.
Cooking method
Rinse the meat, peel off the films, cut it as goulash or smaller and boil in a small amount of water.
Strain the broth and cook lentils on it. 3 minutes before cooking, put the meat and garlic cut into thin slices into porridge.
When serving, add oil and sprinkle with herbs.
Recipe 7. Porridge from lentils "Three days to pay"
Ingredients
Lentils - 1/3 cup
Rice - 1/3 cup
Small groats (barley, wheat, Artek) - 1/3 cup
Onion - Half Onion
Carrot - a pair of pieces
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Any oil
Cooking method
Rinse lentils, shake small groats.
Put to cook the cereals and keep on fire until completely boiled, then squeeze the garlic into them through a press, cover and wrap in a blanket.
Rub the carrots, chop the onion finely, stew everything with butter. Arrange the lentil porridge on plates and season with vegetables.
Recipe 8. Lentil porridge with dried apricots and raisins
For lentil porridge with dried apricots and raisins, only red lentils are suitable: it is the most tender.
Ingredients
Lentils - 1 cup
Raisins - half a glass
Dried apricots - half a glass already chopped
Any nuts - a good handful
Cooking method
Rinse dried fruits thoroughly, if necessary soak in cold water.
Cut dried apricots into small pieces.
Dry the nuts in the oven, microwave or in a dry frying pan and peel off the film. Chop it up.
Put dried fruits in cold water, bring to a boil, add lentils and cook until cooked.
If you do not want to see half-boiled lentil grains in a plate, first cook the dried fruits, then cook the lentils on a strained broth and mash it with a blender. Add dried fruits in mashed potatoes.
If you prefer sweet porridge, add a spoonful of sugar when cooking.
When serving, add oil and garnish lentil porridge with nuts, sprinkle them on top.
Recipe 9. Lentil porridge with nuts
The combination of lentils with walnuts is considered a classic. Although many people like lentils with cashews or peanuts.
Ingredients
Lentils, preferably red - 1 cup
Nuts - at least half a glass
Butter
Cooking method
There is nothing simpler than such porridge from lentils. Cook lentils.
Peel, dry and remove the thin peel from them.
Season porridge from lentils with butter and sprinkle with nuts.
Recipe 10. Georgian lentil porridge
Ingredients
Green lentils - 1 cup
Garlic - 4-6 cloves
Walnuts - A Big Handful
Suneli hops - a tablespoon or two
Cilantro - a bunch
Onion - optional
Cooking method
To cook porridge from lentils in the Georgian style, it is advisable to take just green lentils and walnuts, otherwise the national flavor of the dish will disappear.
Cook lentils without salt.
If you decide to cook with onions, chop finely and let it in a pan so that it becomes transparent, but does not fry.
When the lentils are ready for about three minutes, add onion, hops-suneli, salt, chopped garlic to the porridge and cook.
Peel walnuts and chop. Season the porridge with them. Generously sprinkle the finished dish with chopped cilantro.
Recipe 11. Lentil porridge with buckwheat
If desired, you can make porridge from lentils and with rice or bulgur. Rice or bulgur is combined with any variety, and it is better to mix black or green with buckwheat.
Ingredients
Lentils - 0.5 cups
Buckwheat - 0.5 cups
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Spicy herbs to taste: sage, rosemary; some people like to add some caraway seeds to such a mess.
If desired, you can put a few finely chopped champignons in the dish.
Cooking method
Rinse lentils and buckwheat.
Pour the cereals into a pot of boiling water and cook over low heat under a lid. You'll probably have to remove the foam a couple of times. A minute before being ready, add garlic and herbs, squeezed through a press, to the dish, if they are fresh. Dried must be added earlier: about five minutes before the end of cooking.
If you decide to put mushrooms, then they can be cooked immediately with cereals. And you can lightly fry in butter, and only then put in the finished porridge.
Recipe 12. Lentil porridge with cracklings
Such porridge can be prepared from any type of lentil, it is unprincipled.
Ingredients
Lentils - Glass
Pork fat - about 200 g
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Onion at will
Cooking method
Put the lentils to boil, after thoroughly washing it.
Meanwhile, cook the greaves. To do this, cut the fat into thin plates and begin to melt in a pan. Make sure that the greaves do not burn. At first, they seemed to not be cooking for a long time, but at some point they begin to fry very quickly. Immediately catch ready-made cracklings with a slotted spoon. It is not enough to remove the pan from the fire: the oil cools slowly, and its temperature is high, so that the cracklings have time to burn.
Drain most of the melted fat, it can then be used in the preparation of other dishes.
On the remaining fat, fry the sliced garlic.
Pour fat with garlic into the cooked lentil porridge and put the greaves.
Lentil porridge - tricks and tips
- Green and black retain their grain shape well, while red boils. If the dilapidated grains irritate you, mashed the dish with a blender, and you get messy mess.
- Unlike peas, which like onions, lentils prefer garlic, and it is definitely added to dishes from it. If you do not like garlic, try replacing it with the same onion and curry, the taste will be different, but also pleasant.
- When cooking to the very end, do not salt the dish. You can even add a teaspoon of sugar, like in beans.
- To chop garlic or walnut quickly, you must first crush it by clicking on it flat with a knife.
