Tag Archives: cilantro

Easy Red Lentils with Scallion Flatbread

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There’s a theme here lately… easy! I have a few recipes waiting for me to make them but I haven’t had much time lately so I’ve been powering through my SUPER easy recipes first! I’ve made this one several times, it’s really good and pretty basic. My toddler loves these lentils and so does my hubby. You can find the Scallion Flatbread recipe here.

Easy Red Lentils with Scallion Flatbread

  • Lentils (Dal)
    • 1 cup red lentils, picked through for stones
    • 2 cups water
    • 1 onion, diced
    • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
    • 1 (1/2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and minced
    • 2 medium tomatoes, diced
    • 1 serrano chile, sliced in 1/2, optional (I omitted to make it toddler friendly)
  • Tempering oil (bagaar)
    • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
    • 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
    • Generous 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon paprika or bafaat powder (I’ve used both, bafaat powder is pretty good with it!)
    • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • Handful chopped fresh cilantro leaves
    • INSTRUCTIONS
        1. Put the lentils in a strainer and rinse them under running water. Add them to a bowl, cover with water and let soak for 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
        2. In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups of water, the onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, chile (if using) and the lentils. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim any scum from the surface. DO NOT ADD SALT YET; it will toughen the lentils, thereby lengthening their cooking time. Lower the heat, cover the pot with a lid and gently simmer until the lentils are tender, almost translucent, and almost falling apart, about 30 to 40 minutes.
        3. Whisk the lentils, releasing its natural starch, and mash some of them so the mixture becomes thick. Add salt, to taste.
        4. Tempering oil (bagaar): In a small bowl, combine the cumin and mustard seeds. In another bowl, combine the spice powders. Have all the ingredients ready because this will move very fast!
        5. In a small skillet, over a medium-high flame, warm 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add seeds and immediately cover so you don’t get covered in spluttering oil and seeds! Add the spices. They should sizzle and bubble a little – that’s the blooming and it’s exactly what you want. Don’t let them burn. The mixture should bloom for about 30 seconds, no more.
        6. Pour the oil mixture into the lentils, standing back so you don’t get hurt when the mixture splutters again. Stir to combine. Transfer the lentils to a serving dish and garnish with cilantro.

Per Serving: Calories: 237; Fat: 5 grams (Saturated Fat: 0 grams); Protein: 14g; Carbohydrates: 35g; Sugar: 4g; Fiber: 9g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 23mg

Coconut Mung Beans (Pressure Cooker)

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I bought some mung beans at the Asian Market last week, I’ve been wanting to try them since they’re so good for you. This recipe is from Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day – I’ve had my eye on it for a while now so I decided to make it tonight. It’s really easy to make, doesn’t take much time at all and tastes delish! It was a tad too spicy for our toddler but not for us at all. The toasted coconut topping was a nice touch.

Coconut Mung Beans

  • 1 T coconut oil
  • 1 /2 t cumin seeds
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 Serrano chili  (I used a jalapeno, all I had. Removed all seeds and diced)
  • 1 T minced ginger
  • 1 T curry powder (I used Kashmiri Curry from World Spice Merchant)
  • 1 c mung beans
  • 4 c water
  • 1 t Creole seasoning
  • Juice and zest 1 lemon (around ¼ lemon juice. You can use lime juice or 3 T of apple cider vinegar in place of lemon juice)
  • ½ c cilantro
  • Toasted coconut for garnish (I toasted unsweetened coconut shreds in my toaster oven on 325F for a few minutes)
  • Soy Sauce/Pepper to taste
* In case you’ve never seen them before, here are mung beans:

Dry Mung Beans

Directions:
  • In a pressure cooker over med hi heat add the oil, cumin, onion, chili, ginger, and curry powder along with a pinch of salt. Sauté for several minutes, then lower the heat down to low and continue cooking for 10 more minutes. (My pressure cooker doesn’t have a low setting so I just sautéed it for about 8 minutes or so)
  • Add the beans, water and Creole seasoning
  • Put top on pressure cooker and bring to high pressure for 6 minutes.
  • Let the pressure come down naturally then stir in lemon juice and zest and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasonings and add toasted coconut to garnish if you desire
  • Serve over rice – I used brown rice and served it with Naan bread… my hubby’s request!

Saute onions, pepper, ginger, curry, cumin seeds and a pinch of salt in coconut oil

Add beans, water and creole seasoning

Cover, cook on high pressure for 6 minutes

Toast unsweetened coconut for topping

Slow release pressure, add lemon juice, zest and cilantro

Yum!

Red Lentil Thai Chili

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I served this chili (and the Spicy Broccoli Cheeze Soup) at a party yesterday and it was a total hit, some people asked for leftovers to-go! It was even better today when I had it for lunch and dinner. It’s such a unique tasting chili, I really love the curry paste mixed with the sweet potatoes and lime.

This recipe is from one of my favorite vegan food blogs – Post Punk Kitchen. I doubled this recipe and skipped a few steps because I thought it would fit in my crock pot but it didn’t! My hubby had to run to the fire station to borrow a bigger pot.

Water or broth for sautéing
1 large yellow onion, diced medium
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced medium
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 ½ lbs sweet potatoes cut into ¾ inch chunks
1 cup red lentils
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups vegetable broth
2 15 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
1 15 oz can low-fat coconut milk
28 oz can diced tomatoes
½ cup fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish
Limes for garnish (optional but VERY GOOD WITH IT!)

Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Saute onions and pepper for 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute a minute more.

Add chili powder, sweet potatoes, lentils, salt and vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. When lentils are cooked and sweet potatoes are tender, add the remaining ingredients and heat through.

Taste for salt and seasoning, top with cilantro and lime and serve!

Red Lentil, Chickpea & Chili Soup

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Now that the weather is finally getting colder, I can make all my favorite soups! My toddler has almost perfected the use of a spoon so the timing is perfect!

This soup is one of our favorites and it’s super easy and healthy. This is similar to my Italian’ish Lentil Tomato Soup but with different spices – more of an Indian curry-type soup.

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

  • 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
  • 1 large pinch chili flakes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 5 ounces red lentils
  • 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock – I use Imagine Brand No-Chicken Broth
  • 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed (can used canned or homemade) – I pressure cook a pound or so a week and use those rather than canned.
  • Salt & Pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  • Plain soy yogurt  – It’s really good with this, try it!!

Directions:

  1. Heat a large saucepan and dry fry the cumin seeds and chili flakes for 1 min or until they start to jump around the pan and release their aromas. Add the oil and onion, and cook for 5 minutes Stir in the lentils, stock and tomatoes, then bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have softened.
  2. Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until it is a rough puree, pour back into the pan and add the chickpeas. Heat gently, season well with salt & pepper and stir in the cilantro. Finish with a spoonful of yogurt.


Chipotle Hummus

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I love chipotle chili powder! I like to sprinkle it on my popcorn with wheat germ and a little salt. Anytime I see a recipe with chipotle in it I have to try it. This Chipotle Hummus is from one of my favorite vegan food blogs Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day. She has really delicious recipes and she teaches you how to eat healthy for really cheap by making a few base sauces and using them for other recipes. I pressure cooked a pound of chickpeas (cost me about $1.50) and I used half of them to make this delicious hummus.

My husband loves this hummus! He puts it on sandwiches, tacos and eats it with chips or crackers. I like it with jicama and lime juice or pita chips.

I used a batch of this hummus to make Cheezy Chipotle Broccoli Quinoa Soup (also from Melomeals) which turned out to be an absolutely delicious soup! Tastes like a cheesy broccoli soup with a little chipotle kick! My husband had two bowls and asked if I would save the leftovers for him!

Chipotle Hummus

  • 2 large cloves garlic
  • 1 t Tony’s creole seasoning
  • ¼ t cumin
  • ¼ t coriander
  • 2 c HOT chickpeas (reserve ½ c cooking liquid)
  • 1-2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
  • 4 T tahini or peanut butter (I used tahini)
  • 2-4 T chickpea cooking liquid as needed or Olive Oil if you aren’t watching  your calories
  • Juice of 2 limes ( around 3 T )
  • ¼ c chopped cilantro (optional)
  • Salt/pepper to taste

Method:

* I blended all the ingredients at once in my VitaMix blender and it turned out great!

* If you don’t have a VitaMix, here’s her food processor instructions:

  1. Pulse garlic and tony’s in food processor until garlic paste is formed
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and puree until totally smooth
  3. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add more lime juice if needed.