They pack a punch and don’t have to be served as a boring dal. Lentils can be put to various uses right from being used to lend a silky texture to soups to a more filling and nutritious kebab. The thumb rule with lentils is that they always

have to be soaked in water at least for three hours before cooking them; you can either puree them completely or coarsely grind them to add texture to any vegetable or meat dish. Here’s how:

Sprouted lentil and potato salad
Ingredients

2 cups of mixed sprouts
2 potatoes, boiled, peeled and chopped into pieces
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
3 spring onion whites, peeled and chopped
½ cup of mushrooms, sliced and sautéed in olive oil

For the dressing:

3-4 tbsp of olive oil
Juice of half a lime
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp of curry powder (use ¼ tsp each of dhania powder, jeera powder, red chilli powder and chaat masala)
Salt to taste

Method
Mix all the ingredients together for the dressing and keep it aside for about an hour.
When you’re ready to serve, place all the vegetables in a salad bowl and pour in the dressing. Toss around and chill for a while before serving.

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Pigeon pea and sausage curry

Ingredients

1½ cup toor dal (split pigeon pea), soaked and drained
200 gms of sausages (herbed), chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 green chilli, minced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 tsp of vinegar
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp of coriander leaves, chopped
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil

Method
Pressure cook the toor dal with three cups of water and some salt until they are done. Drain out the water from the dal when done and keep this aside.
Heat some oil in a pan and add the onions to this, sauté until they are golden brown. Now add the green chilli, ginger and garlic to this and sauté well. Follow this with the tomatoes, stir in the red chilli powder and cover to allow it to cook for about three minutes until it begins to form thick gravy. Add the vinegar and dal to this along with a cup of water and allow the entire thing to bubble for about five minutes till the dal begins to absorb all the flavours. Lower the flame and add the sausages to this, simmer for about two minutes, adjust the salt and add the coriander leaves just before turning off the flame. Serve hot with rotis.

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Spicy kheema with lentils
Ingredients

300 gms of kheema (chicken or mutton mince)
¾ cup of masoor dal, soaked and drained
1 cup of spinach leaves, torn
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 sticks of cinnamon
3 green cardamoms
3 cloves
1 tsp of garam masala
½ tsp of jeera powder
½ tsp of dhania powder
Juice of half a lime
Coriander leaves to garnish
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil

Method
In a pressure cooker, heat some oil and add the dry spices until they begin to sizzle. Now add the onions, garlic and ginger and sauté till they’re golden brown. Add the kheema to this and sauté well, followed by the tomatoes. Add the jeera and dhania powder and mix well. Add the soaked masoor dal to this along with three cups of water and pressure cook for three whistles until the meat is tender and dal is done. Turn the flame to a low heat and add the spinach leaves, adjust the salt and sprinkle the garam masala on this. Squeeze the lime juice and sprinkle the coriander leaves on top. Serve hot with plain rice.

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Red pumpkin and
lentil soup

Ingredients

2 cups of red pumpkin, chopped
½ cup of masoor dal (split orange lentils), soaked with 2 cups water for three hours and drained
1 carrot, chopped
2 bay leaves
¾ cup of milk
2 tsp of pepper powder
½ tsp of dried basil
Salt to taste
Olive oil

Method

Place the soaked and drained masoor dal, bay leaves, pumpkin and carrot together, add two cups of water and sprinkle some salt. Pressure cook this for three whistles or until all the contents have turned soft and mushy. Allow them to cool down, discard the bay leaves and then puree in a blender until smooth.
Put this puree into a saucepan on a low flame and gently stir in the milk. Let this simmer on a low flame for about two minutes. Stir in the pepper powder after you turn off the flame. Ladle into individual bowls, garnish with dried basil and a swirl of olive oil before serving.

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Mixed lentil, banana and mint kebabs
Ingredients

2 raw, green bananas, peeled and chopped
1 small potato, boiled, peeled and mashed
1 cup of mixed lentils
½ an onion, chopped
3 tsp of ginger-garlic paste
2 green chillies, minced
1 tsp of jeera powder
½ of dry mango (amchur) powder
Breadcrumbs to coat
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

Method

Pressure cook the lentils with two cups of water and salt until they are done. The dal should still be a little coarse in the kebab. Drain and keep this aside. Blanch the bananas just until they turn soft and can be mashed.
Now take all the ingredients together, except for the oil, breadcrumbs and salt, and mash them until it can be kneaded into dough. Adjust the salt and knead again. Divide into equal portions and flatten with your hands to form discs that are half inch thick. Coat these in the breadcrumbs and allow them to rest for five minutes before deep frying in hot oil until golden brown all over. Serve hot with mint chutney.