How to cook red lentils?

cooked red lentils in white bowl with a silver spoon dipped in

All you need to know on how to cook red lentils easily on stove top, including health reasons as to why you should soak lentils, health benefits, nutrition, lentil to water ratio, how to season lentils and more.

Course Lunch

Cuisine Indian

Diet Vegan

Fridge Life? 3 days

Freezable? 3 months

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings

Calories 159kcal

Author Dora

Ingredients

1 cup dried red lentils
3 cups water
1 tsp salt optional

Instructions

If presoaking then presoak for 6 hours in water + 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar of lemon juice.
Rinse to remove any debris.
Place the lentils in a large stove and add water at 1:3 ratio (3 cups water for 1 cup dried red lentils) and a bit of salt.
Bring to boil.
Reduce heat to low, cover and leave to simmer for about 5-12 minutes depending on how you want the texture to be. (5-7 min - firm; 8 min - soft; 9 min - getting mushy)

Notes

lentils do not need to be soaked beforehand from a culinary perspective, but from a health perspective it is recommended in order to neutralize phytic acid
season with sauteed onion and garlic, lemon juice, curry spices, turmeric, ginger, cumin, cilantro and chili work great, fresh parsley, dill, cilantro, feta cheese or any full fat hard grated cheese works wonderfully with cooked lentils

Nutrition