Yummy Crock Pot Lentils

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups lentils -- rinsed
• 2 large onions -- chopped
• 2 cloves garlic -- minced
• 2 cups canned tomatoes -- chopped, with liquid
• 2 cups water -- or stock
• 2 large carrots -- sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1 bell pepper -- diced
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/8 teaspoon sage
• 1/8 teaspoon thyme

Place all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on the HIGH setting for 2-1/2 hours, or until the lentils are tender. Serves 8 to 10.

Yummy Crock Pot Lentils

Palak Ki Daal: Moong Lentils with Spinach

I love this Daal for two reasons - it's tasty and filled with good stuff! Daals are great, healthy food by themselves, but with the spinach in this dish, things only get better! You can serve Palak Ki Daal with plain boiled rice and a pickle of your choice or just have by itself like a soup! This is what I call good, easy food!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup moong daal - moong/ split yellow lentils
  
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1" piece of ginger grated
• 1 small bunch spinach, washed and chopped roughly (approximately 1/2 lb or 250 gms)
• 3 tbsps melted butter or olive oil
  
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 dry red chilli broken into half
• 5 cloves garlic chopped very fine
• A pinch of asafetida
• Salt to taste
• Half a lime/ lemon

Preparation:

1. Wash the moong daal thoroughly under running water. Soak in warm water for 20 minutes.
2. Put the daal into a deep pan and add water (level should be 2 finger digits over the top of the daal). Set up to boil, on medium heat.
3. Add the turmeric powder and ginger now and stir. Cook till the daal is soft enough to mash. Add more water as you cook, if required, to keep the consistency similar to that of a thick soup.
4. When the daal is cooked, add the spinach, season with salt to taste, stir and reduce the heat to minimum.
5. In another small pan, heat the ghee till hot and add the cumin seeds. Fry till sizzling stops and then add the dry red chilli, chopped garlic and asafetida. Fry till garlic turns pale golden in color. Now carefully add this ghee-spice mixture (called tadka in Hindi), to the cooked, simmering daal. It will sizzle and might splash so be careful!
6. Put the Palak Ki Daal into a serving dish, garnish with a squeeze of lime/lemon and serve.

Palak Ki Daal: Moong Lentils with Spinach

Garlic Flavored Lentils

Made with masoor daal (orange lentils) this dish is simple and very tasty. It is in fact almost a staple in most homes. It makes a great accompaniment for plain boiled rice and a vegetable or meat dish. The recipe makes enough for 2-3 servings and is best made in a pressure cooker - it gets done faster this way.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup masoor daal
• 3 cups water
• 2 tbsps vegetable/sunflower/canola cooking oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 onion chopped fine
• 1 tomato chopped fine
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 3 tbsps ghee (clarified butter)
• 3 dry red chillies stalks removed and broken into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp asafetida
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 8-10 cloves of garlic

Preparation:

1. Wash the daal thoroughly.
2. Mix the daal, water, cooking oil, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt to taste, onion and tomato in the pressure cooker or a deep pan and boil till the lentils are very soft.
3. In another small pan, heat the ghee well and add the cumin seeds which will sizzle. When they stop sizzling add the garlic and dry red chillies and fry till the garlic is light brown. Add the asafetida and turn off the fire.
4. Quickly add this ghee and spice mixture to the boiled daal and stir well.
5. Eat piping hot with rice and other dishes.

Garlic Flavored Lentils

German Lentil Salad

Ingredients

• 250 g small lentils
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• DRESSING
• 7 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 2 tablespoons mustard
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• salt, to taste

Directions

1. Cook the lentils in salted water for 20 minutes or until they are soft.
2. Put all the dressing ingredients into a small jar, cover with the lid, and shake until they are well-combined.
3. Chop the carrots into tiny cubes, and sauté the carrots and minced garlic lightly in olive oil; remove the pan from the heat and add the parsley and the lentils, and toss them with the dressing; and serve at room temperature.

German Lentil Salad

Morrocan Lentil Stew

SERVES 6 (change servings and units)
Ingredients

• 1 cup dried lentils, sorted and rinsed
• 1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 10 small red potatoes, cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 8 ounces frozen cut green beans, thawed

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients except green beans in a 4-5 quart slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours until lentils, squash, and potatoes are tender when tested with knife.
3. Increase heat to high setting.
4. Stir in thawed green beans, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes until mixture is thoroughly heated and beans are tender.
5. If you have a new, hotter cooking crockpot, cook on low for 6-8 hours until lentils and potatoes are tender.
6. If the recipe is 'mush' you cooked it too long. And always season food to taste.
7. The crockpot mutes spices, so you may need to add more curry powder and cumin before you serve it.

Morrocan Lentil Stew

Roasted Kale Chips

Roasted Kale Chips

Countless other food bloggers have started out their post on kale chips saying "Why did it take me so long to make kale chips?" so I'll spare you that lament and just say that now that I've finally made roasted kale chips myself, I certainly see what all the fuss is about. Not only are they full of nutritious goodness, but roasted kale chips are delicious. If you don't believe these roasted crispy kale leaves can be that special, just check my list after the recipe to see how many other bloggers have raved about them...--Kalyn's Kitchen

Roasted Kale Chips