Lentil recipes are an important part of any vegetarian diet.
There are many types of lentils
that are used in making lentil curry, lentil salad or lentil soup.
Lentils are widely used in vegetarian cooking for their nutritional value. Lentils are one of the healthiest food ingredients.
Lentils include pulses, beans, dals, legumes. They contain high level of proteins, vitamin B1, dietary fiber, minerals, iron ect. They are rich in protein next to soya.
Lentils are recommended for diabetics. Lentils are used whole or split.
Whole lentils are more nutritious because of their husks. When the husk - skin is removed from the whole lentil and the lentil is split, the split lentil is referred to as dal, daal or dhal in Indian languages.
The cooked lentil recipe, a dish either made with whole or split lentil is also called as Dal.
So the Indian Dal which you get in restaurants is made with a variety of whole or split lentil. The dals are referred according to the variety of lentil that is split.
The cooking time of lentils is short. The split lentil, that is called dal, cooks still faster.
It is combined with rice as it has similar cooking time such as in Khichadi . Cooked lentils become thick so water is used to thin it.
Lentils are used to make snacks, salads, curries, side dishes, sweets etc.
Whole or split lentils and flours made from lentils are used.
Types of lentils - whole and split lentil varieties
whole chickpeas and split chickpeas are used to make
Chickpea recipes - More about chickpeas.
How to skin chickpeas - Instructions for Removing chickpea skins
How to cook chickpeas. - Easy and simple way to cook chickpeas.
Fried Chickpeas - healthy snack
Chickpea Curry - A yummy curry
Made with kabuli chana - garbanzo beans, prepared on festivals such as Ganesh chaturthi and distributed to the devotees as prasad, also served as a healthy snack.
Mung Bean Curry - Lentil curry to serve with rice/roti/bread. Can use other beans/lentils too.
Moong dal kosambari - Lentil salad recipe - Snack and ramanavami and navaratri festival salad recipe