Indian Lentils
This is a vegetarian dish that I keep in the fridge at all times. It’s a great recipe to prepare on a Sunday (when things are hopefully calmer in your house) to have on hand all week for lunches and dinners. We all love it in my house, even baby Chloe. I feed her individual lentils one after the other and she can’t seem to get enough of them. As for Kenya, as soon as he found out that the type of kale I use in the recipe is called “dinosaur kale”, he was downing it by the spoonful!
I buy nearly all of the ingredients for this recipe — the lentils and the vegetables — at the farmers market where they’re certified organic, in season, and cost the same price or less than I would find them for at the grocery. When you can make a healthy, high protein, tasty and exotic recipe like this one that everyone in the family loves, it makes for a very happy mommy!
Indian Lentils (Serves 4-6)
1 Tsp Fresh Ginger, grated
1 Garlic Clove, grated
1 1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin
2 Tsp Ground Coriander
1/4 Tsp Turmeric
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Medium Shallot, minced
3 Tbsp Tomato Paste (mixed with 3 Tbsp Water)
1 1/4 Cups Green Lentils
1 Cup Green Beans, chopped
1 Cup Carrots, cut into coins
1 1/2 Cups Kale, shredded (I used Dinosaur Kale)
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Cilantro, chopped
1. Mix the first 5 ingredients in a bowl with 1/4 cup of water to make a paste.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the shallots over medium heat for 1 minute.
3. Add the spice mixture and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the tomato paste mixture and cook an additional 1-2 minutes or until the liquid is almost evaporated.
5. Add the lentils and 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Partially cover the pot and cook for 25 minutes.
6. Add the vegetables, salt and cilantro and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until vegetables and lentils are tender.
7. Serve.
*Allow to cool and place in appropriate tupperware or ziploc bag, label and freeze up to 4 months. When ready, defrost in a pot over low-medium heat or in the fridge for 24-48 hours.
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Tags: babies first foods, baby food, carrot, carrots, cheap recipes, Cilantro, coriander, cumin, exotic recipes, first foods, fresh ginger, ginger, green beans, high protein easy lentil recipes, home made baby food, indian lentils, indian recipes, inexpensive recipes, kale, lentil, lentil recipes, olive oil, recipes for kids, salt, shallots, tomato paste, turmeric
I can’t wait to try this recipe! What type of rice did you serve it over? Jasmine? Brown?
I used brown but you can use Jasmine too
Looks delish!
Awesome! Our whole family really enjoyed this!
I am making my way through a ton of your recipes, because they all look great! So excited. Have to say, though, that I tried this last week, and was very dissappointed. I had to add a ton of salt and more turmeric to give it any real flavour — it was quite bland. Not sure if I missed something. But…we’re moving on and trying something new tonight. Thanks for putting so much effort into all this.