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how to cook red lentils - Fine Dining Lovers

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How do you cook red lentils?

4 Minutes read
FDL
By
Fine Dining Lovers
Editorial Staff

Red lentils are best known for their smooth and creamy texture

Read on to find out how to cook red lentils and discover plenty of red lentil recipes for inspiration. 

How to cook dry red lentils

You may be aware that lentils are the dried seeds of the lentil plant. Whilst close cousins of beans, they cannot be eaten fresh like beans. After ripening, lentils are always dried, and then they’re cooked in their dried form, so they have to be approached differently. Firstly, when cooking red lentils, you’ll want to rinse them. Occasionally you might find a little debris in the lentils, so it’s recommended to rinse them in a mesh sieve and then you can easily remove any debris prior to cooking. It’s worth also taking a couple of minutes to run through your lentils and remove any potentially shrivelled lentils from the mix before cooking too. After rinsing, your lentils are ready for cooking and we’ve recommended boiling your lentils, as outlined in more detail below. 

How to boil red lentils

If you’re wondering how to cook red lentils on the stove, then boiling is really the go-to option. Some chefs will guess the amount of water needed, simply making sure the lentils are fully covered by liquid in the pan, but others prefer a more precise approach. Roughly, you’ll need to work to around 24 oz of water per 7 oz red lentils, if you’d like to measure out the quantities. If you want to make mushier lentils, though, you can add more water to make them softer. The ratio we’ve shared will leave you with soft, creamy lentils that still hold some of their shape, so are the ideal consistency for adding to salads and soups. For a texture that’s closer to a purée, you’ll need to add more water than the amount we’ve suggested. Given the fact that lentils are packed full of vitamins and minerals, and cook to a soft texture, they can also be a great first food for baby weaning. 

To cook, simply bring the red lentils to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover with a lid. Once fully cooked, drain from the pan, and you can use straight away or mix with sauces and seasonings before adding to dishes. Whilst boiling in water is the straightforward method, you can also try boiling red lentils in stock to add more flavor. Or, you could try introducing aromatics to your lentils when they’re boiling. Ingredients like carrots, celery, bay leaves, and garlic can be added to the saucepan whilst the lentils are cooking and you can either leave them in to add to the flavors of the dish or remove after cooking. 

How to stew red lentils

The action of stewing an ingredient quite literally means to slowly cook, covered, in liquid. Owing to the creamy, smooth nature of red lentils, they’re well suited to stews and add an irresistible, mouth-watering texture. To make a hearty red lentil stew at home, we’d recommend starting with sautéing chopped onion first, then adding a selection of seasonings and spices including garlic, ginger, ground cumin, ground turmeric, and sea salt. Bring all the flavors together with the red lentils, coconut milk, and diced tomatoes for an undeniably warming wintertime dish. Whilst you can always experiment with varying the ingredients in a stew, mixing up different spices or vegetables, we’d always recommend sticking to red lentils. Other varieties hold their shape and firmness too much to suit a stew, and you can find out all you need to know about the different types of lentils and their best uses in our helpful article

how to cook red lentils - Fine Dining Lovers

Do red lentils need to be soaked?

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t actually need to soak red lentils prior to cooking. They actually cook much faster than other lentil varieties, so once they’ve been rinsed and cleaned they’ll be ready to cook. 

How long to cook red lentils

As mentioned above, red lentils are softer than most of the other lentil varieties. They break down quickly when they’re cooked, so will naturally need less time in the pan than other lentils. So, when it comes to the question of how long to cook red lentils, they will cook faster than brown or green varieties. You’ll usually only need around 15 minutes to reach the desired texture and consistency. Of course, the cooking time will occasionally vary depending on your stove, so it’s worth keeping an eye on your lentils as they cook and making sure you stir them regularly to prevent them sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

By contrast, yellow lentils will need much longer on the stove. Yellow lentils take closer to 45 minutes to cook fully. Despite still being a popular variety to use in curries and soups, they take far longer than red lentils to cook properly, so you’d need to factor in more cooking time if you wish to switch yellow lentils for red lentils in your curry recipe. 

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