Red Lentils with Bengali Spices

One day, when I had run out of dinner ideas, I decided to do something with the red lentils I'd had in my pantry for months. Of course I had no idea what to do with them, which is why they had been sitting for so long. But a quick online search turned up several recipes. Some call for cooking the lentils no more than 10 minutes, while others call for more than 30 minutes.

Red lentils, with their skin removed, split the way split peas are split. They cook very quickly. I concluded that, if you want the lentils whole, you should cook them for no more than 20 minutes. If you want a pureed texture, cook them for 30 minutes or more. They are also called pink lentils or masoor dal. They turn from red to yellow during cooking, which really surprised me.

I picked a recipe called Bengal Red Lentils with Spices, which called for Bengali Panch Phoron, a simple five-spice mix. I didn't have all the spices, but I didn't let that stop me. I substituted butter for usli ghee (clarified butter), and used a bit less. I substituted a little jalapeno for the green chilis, and cayenne powder for the dried red chilis. I left out the Nigella entirely. Instead of Fenugreek seeds, I added just a little imitation maple flavor (which is mostly fenugreek) to the finished dish.

From the moment I started frying onions, tomatoes, and ginger in a little butter, the kitchen filled with a wonderful smell. When I started frying my panch phoron substitute, the whole house became fragrant. My children asked me if I had some Indian food. Not quite, but something a little bit like it. What I came up with is not authentic Bengali cooking, but it is a quick, delicious dish that features some flavors from Bengal. If it becomes a regular on our menu, I may even buy some Nigella or Fenugreek for even more flavor. And the next time I visit an Indian Restaurant, I'll look for Bengali specialties like Red Lentils with Panch Phoron, to find out what I have been missing.

-= Exported from BigOven =-

Red Lentils with Bengali Spices

Based on a recipe from Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking by Julie Sahni, this recipe is adapted to use ingredients which are common in many parts of the US.

Recipe By: Family Nutritionist
Serving Size: 8
Cuisine: Indian
Main Ingredient: Lentils
Categories: Vegetarian, Advance, Vegetables, Side Dish, Main Dish

-= Ingredients =-
~~ Boiling the dal ~~
1 1/2 cup Red lentils (masar dal)
1/4 Jalapeno peppers
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
4 1/2 cup Water
1/4 teaspoon Salt ; or to taste
~~ Tomato-Onion paste ~~
1 tablespoon Unsalted butter
1 cup Onion ; minced
1 cup Tomatoes
1 tablespoon Fresh ginger ; grated or crushed
~~ Perfumed Butter ~~
1 tablespoon Unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon Cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon Fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon Nigella seed ; (also called onion seed, black sesame, black cumin, kalonji)
1/2 teaspoon Fenugreek seed ; (imitation maple flavor contains Fenugreek)
4 Bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne ; or crushed red pepper (piquin)
2 teaspoon garlic ; minced

-= Instructions =-
1. Pick, clean, and wash the red lentils. Add to a deep pot with chilies, turmeric, water, and salt.
and cook the red lentils, chilies, turmeric, salt and water. Put the ingredients in a deep pot; bring to boil. Stir often to make sure they do not lump together. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, or until tender. The lentils will turn yellow.

2.While the lentils are cooking, heat butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and fry until golden brown (about 10 minutes). Add the tomatoes and continue frying until the tomatoes are cooked. Add the ginger, and continue cooking until the mix is a uniform thick pulp, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato-onion paste and salt to the cooked lentils.

Serving: 2/3 cups (215g), Calories: 167: Fat: 4g (21% of Cals): Sodium: 84mg
Protein: 10g, NetCarbs: 20, K: 304mg
SatFat: 2g, PolyFat: 1g, MonoFat: 1g, Chol: 8mg
TotCarbs: 25g, Fiber: 5g, Sugars: 1g

DASH: Vegetables: 0.5: Fruits/Juices: 0.0: Dairy: 0.0: Grains: 0.0: Meat/Fish: 0.0: Seeds: 0.9: Fats: 0.8: Sweets: 0.0
USDA: Vegetables: 0.3: Fruits/Juices: 0.0: Dairy: 0.0: Grains: 0.0: Meat/Fish/Seeds: 0.9: Fats: 0.8: Sweets: 0.0



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Nutritional information in this post calculated using bigoven. Food Group Servings calculated in EXCEL using http://www.mypyramid.gov/ and DASH diet references

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Lentil Soup with Saffron Yogurt

I have a dollar bag of saffron that I picked up on a whim at The Spice Corner in Philadelphia's Italian Market. I tried a pinch in some recipe or another, but really couldn't taste the saffron. So I was intrigued by Heidi Swanson's Lively Up Yourself Lentil Soup recipe. It seems so plain, so unseasoned, except for a dollop of saffron-infused yogurt. I usually season lentil soup with hambone, celery, carrot, caraway, and cloves.


She suggests 6 to 8 servings from this soup. Six servings gives 288 calories (30 from fat) and 25g net carbs. You also get a total of 1 cup vegetable (onions, greens, and tomatoes) and 21g of protein, which is what you'd get in about 3.3 oz (uncooked weight) lean meat. Add a slice of whole grain bread to round things out and a couple more servings of vegetables, and it's a full meal. And it will fill you up. Depending on how much liquid you cook off, the serving size will be about 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 cups.

If you split the pot 10 ways, you'll get 173 calories (18 from fat), 15g net carbs, and 13g of protein, equivalent to about 2 oz (uncooked weight) lean meat, and about .6 cup of vegetables, from approximately 1 cup of soup, which is still nearly a main-dish sized portion.

Here's my version of Heidi Swanson's lentil soup, using diced tomatoes instead of crushed (which, in the US, is a puree).

Recipe By: http://HeidiSwanson.com
Serving Size: 12
Cuisine: American
Main Ingredient: Beans
Categories: Vegetarian, Meatless, Soup

-= Ingredients =-
2 cups Lentils ; (Black Beluga or green French), picked over and rinsed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion ; chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
28 ounces Low-salt diced tomatoes
2 cup water
3 cups Chard ; or other leafy green (kale,etc.) rinsed well, deveined, finely chopped
~~ Saffron Yogurt ~~
1 pinch Saffron ; 30-40 threads
1 tablespoon water ; boiling
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Plain low-fat yogurt ; Greek, if possible

-= Instructions =-
Add the lentils to 6 cups of boiling water. Simmer for 20 minutes. Drain.
Combine saffron with 1 tablespoon boiling water, soak for a few minutes, add a pinch of salt, and stir into the yogurt.
In a heavy soup pot, then saute onion in oil with salt until tender. Stir in lentils, tomatoes, and 2 cups water and heat to a simmer. Add the chopped greens and cook briefly.

Serve with saffron yogurt.

Heidi Swanson suggests: garnishing with crunchy fried shallots, pan-fried butternut squash, a poached egg or cooked whole grains; substituing chive-infused cream for the saffron yogurt; adding seasonings such as smoked paprika, toasted cumin, or crushed dried chilis to the soup.

Based on a recipe by Heidi Swanson at http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/lively-up-yourself-lentil-soup-recipe.html

Nutritional Summary
Each (1 1/2 cups; 347g) serving contains:
Cals: 288, FatCals: 30, TotFat: 3g
SatFat: 1g, PolyFat: 1g, MonoFat: 2g
Chol: 1mg, Na: 125mg, K: 1040mg
TotCarbs: 47g, Fiber: 22g, Sugars: 10g
NetCarbs: 25g, Protein: 21g

Food Group Serving(s)
DASH: Vegetables: 2.0: Fruits/Juices: 0.0: Dairy: 0.1: Grains: 0.0: Meat/Fish: 0.0: Seeds: 1.7: Fats: 0.5: Sweets: 0.0
USDA: Vegetables: 1.0: Fruits/Juices: 0.0: Dairy: 0.1: Grains: 0.0: Meat/Fish/Seeds: 3.3: Fats: 0.5: Sweets: 0.0


Nutritional Summary
Each (1 cup; 208g) serving contains:
Cals: 173, FatCals: 18, TotFat: 2g
SatFat: 0g, PolyFat: 1g, MonoFat: 2g
Chol: 1mg, Na: 193mg, K: 624mg
TotCarbs: 28g, Fiber: 13g, Sugars: 6g
NetCarbs: 15g, Protein: 13g

Food Group Serving(s)
DASH: Vegetables: 1.2: Fruits/Juices: 0.0: Dairy: 0.1: Grains: 0.0: Meat/Fish: 0.0: Seeds: 1.0: Fats: 0.3: Sweets: 0.0
USDA: Vegetables: 0.6: Fruits/Juices: 0.0: Dairy: 0.1: Grains: 0.0: Meat/Fish/Seeds: 1.0: Fats: 0.3: Sweets: 0.0

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Nutritional information in this posting calculated using bigoven. Food Group Servings calculated in EXCEL using http://www.mypyramid.gov/ and DASH diet references.

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