Vegan Spiced Red Lentils
Hello wonderful people, and welcome back! Today’s recipe are these Vegan Spiced Red Lentils, with basmati rice!
Lentils are one of the healthiest foods on the planet, they’re rich in fiber, they contain a whopping 9 grams of protein per 1⁄2-cup serving and are so easy on the budget!
I always have them in my pantry, they’re one of the staples of a plant-based diet.
If you don’t know how to cook them, they could turn out to be a little bit boring, and just a tad blad.
So today I’m gonna show you one of my favorite ways to cook lentils. As always everything will be vegan, healthy and extremely delicious.
If you ever had lentils and found them to be bland it’s probably because they were cooked in plain old water – not a lot of flavor there – so I like to flavor them at multiple stages in the cooking process.
Here I am adding the lentils, after they’ve soaked for a couple of hours, into the veggies and spices pan.
Moreover, by blending part of the mixture and stirring it back into the pot, I make it more creamy and even more flavorful. A step that you can totally skip if you don’t have a blender, but that will make your lentils extra creamy and flavorful.
Something else I like doing when cooking lentils, is to rinse them under cold water before soaking or cooking them. There can occasionally be small stones or debris mixed in with lentils, so it’s a good idea to wash them in a colander first. Also, I try to grab the freshest lentils I can find at the store, they don’t really “go bad” as other foods, but don’t taste as good if they’ve been sitting in a store for too long.
What you will need to make these delicious vegan spiced red lentils:
Ingredients Required:
Onion
Garlic
Ginger
Turmeric
Cumin
Japaleno Pepper
Red Lentils
Tomatoes
Kale
Basmati Rice
Check out these other amazing plant based soul food recipes!
Vegan Green Bean Casserole
Vegan Curry Noodle Soup
Vegan Berry Winter Salad
Benefits of…
Red Lentils
- All types of lentils are such good food to add to your vegan diet. They are rich in fiber, a great source of protein and low in calories. Plus, they are a great way to add more iron and folate into your diet.
Turmeric
- This spice and especially its most active compound curcumin have many scientifically-proven health benefits, such as the potential to prevent heart disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer. It’s a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and may also help improve symptoms of depression and arthritis.
Ginger
- This spice is a favorite in a lot of cultures. Consuming ginger is a great way to protect your body from viruses and inflammatory diseases. It has lots of good benefits to your body, like balancing your blood sugar and cholesterol levels, it also helps with nausea, vomiting and digestion.
Vegan Spiced Red Lentils
Ingredients
- 1 onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic diced
- 1- inch ginger peeled and grated
- 3/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 3/4 tsp cumin powder
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 jalapeno pepper omit if you wish, seeds removed and diced small
- 1 cup dry red lentils soaked for 2 hours and rinsed
- 28 oz can whole tomatoes
- 2 cups water
- 1 bunch lacinato kale roughly chopped
To serve
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 cups water
- Pinch sea salt
- Hemp Hearts
Instructions
- Cook the basmati rice according to package instructions.
- In a large stock pot, add ¼ cup water and diced onion. Sauté for 3-5 minutes and then add in the garlic, ginger, jalapeño, turmeric and cumin powder. Heat until nice and fragrant. Add water as needed.
- Stir in the soaked/rinsed red lentils, 1 can whole tomatoes, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30-35 minutes (until the lentils are tender). Blend half of the mixture with an immersion blender or in a blender (carefully). Pour back into the stock pot and stir in the kale. Cover and allow the kale to wilt into the lentils. Serve over basmati rice.
Nutrition
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