lentil, yes lentil cookies!

16 years ago

After the thread about Lentil soup, I decided I was going to get lentils in my diet (lots of fiber and iron). I bought green and red lentils. Cooked a small batch of red lentils and added curry and salt and LOVED them. Made the puree with the green lentils. I just finished a batch of the lentil cookies and I think they are wonderful. The only substitution I made was to use Splenda instead of sugar. For the fruit I used cranberries and apricots. They really are yummy. Cake-like, almost like spice cake. Just in case you'd like to give them a try, here is Alton Brown's recipe:

Here is a link that might be useful: Lentil Cookies

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Comments (12)

centralcacyclist
16 years ago
I'm not sure I want my cookies to be THAT healthy... ;)
sally2_gw
16 years ago
I just never would have thunk it. But it has a 5 star rating.

Sally
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Chaman, You are living in the USA and employing its English for daily referents. I am not impulsive but instead critical of your instantaneous dismissal of Solanum, as you might note from my posting. Also note that i make clear that you are using a common Indian English referent, 'lentil' to translate 'dal', the seed of legumes. When the common language of the culture you and I have adopted as our own use 'lentil' for a specific legume, it is misleading and erroneous to plug in 'lentil' to denote some special usage. Examine the syntax in your phrase "Lentil group of Legumes": what does that mean? We are asking for some purist version of English. What I am VERY CRITICAL of, though, (and I mention this in my poat) is how you jumped downed Solanum's throat without stopping to consider that he might have made a valid point. Now you want to cover up your ignorance with more aggression. Tuer Variety? Do you understand what 'variety' denotes in common language and in a botanical context? Two entirely separate things. Why not: Pigeon peas from my garden? or, Toor Plant (a type of 'lentil') from my garden? BTW, Chaman, if you have to know, my professional work involves the biochemistry/genetics/genomics of rhizobial membranes, apyrase , PEP carboxylase, P inorganic nutrition, in Medicago truncatula/soybean/tomato/arabidopsis, for the last 27 years. So yes, i do understand a little bit about the definitions of Lentils and Legumes, pigeon peas etc. thank you very much. gautam
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In India, legumes of all sorts are a very important part of the daily diet and they have been ingenious in devising different (and very tasty) ways of using them. They are cooked as a side dish, a soup, combined with meats or vegetables in main dishes, ground into flour, formed into thin rounds that are then toasted or fried into the most lovely, crunchy and delicate wafers, made into chutneys, toasted with spices and ground to powder to sprinkle onto rice as a flavoring, cooked with rice to increase it's nutritional value, and gosh, I'm sure I've left some things out! I love to make a thick dish of Indian Dal (lentils) to have with rice and other dishes for one meal and then use the leftover Dal the next day, thinned with water, stock or coconut milk and flavored with a variety of seasonings and vegetables as a starter soup with dinner or as breakfast with some more rice. Indian cuisine makes use of many spices unfamiliar to us in America, but online sources have made it possible even for those living in areas where ethnic markets are rare or far distant to experiment. As jxbrown wrote, red lentils (masoor dal in Indian markets) don't hold their shape when cooked, so they aren't appropriate for dishes like salads. On the other hand, they cook much more quickly, which is convenient when you decide you want a dish of lentils but don't have a lot of time. Here is a very tasty recipe from Williams Sonoma's "Savoring India" that is neither too hot (for those unaccustomed to the more fiery Indian foods) nor too complicated. I make my own Garam Masala, but premade is fairly easy to find and is a versatile spice mix, easy to find uses for if you buy some. Dilliwale Dal (Delhi-style lentils) 1 1/2 c red lentils 1/2 t ground turmeric 4 c water 1 1/2 t salt, or to taste 1 tomato, finely chopped 3 T vegetable oil 1 t cumin seeds 1 yellow onion, finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced or minced 1/2 t cayenne 1 t garam masala 1/4 c finely chopped fresh cilantro Check lentils for stones and rinse well. Add the turmeric and water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and gently simmer until the lentils are tender, appx. 25 minutes. Add salt and tomato and cook until the tomato is soft, appx. 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to very low while you make the spice-infused flavoring. Heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the cumin and saute until it turns very dark, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring until they are light golden, appx. 6 minutes. Stir in the cayenne pepper and garam masala and pour the entire contents of the pan over the lentils. Add the cilantro, mix well. Check and adjust salt and seasonings and serve. If you don't care for cilantro, you can substitute a drizzle of lemon or lime juice. The lentils should be thick, but still a bit soupy, so if they dry out too quickly, just add a bit more water.
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Here is a Middle Eastern inspired Lentil & Chickpea Salad (in a second). [I also make curried lentil soup with sweet potatoes and chicken (chix is optional).] For the Lentil Salad ~ 2 - 3 Cups of al dente - like cooked lentils (grocery store variety, just cook them lightly -- perhaps bring to a boil, then simmer covered for ~ 12 minutes. (I might have soaked my regular lentils for about 40 minutes prior to using. Dump out soaking water & rinse before lightly cooking lentils.) - small can of chickpeas, RINSED well in a bowl of water, drain. Then soak for a minute in boiling water hot; drain; then rinse w cold water again. Drain. (This helps take than can taste away. Even better if you cook your own chickpeas from scratch. A pressure cooler (see Lars') makes this go quickly.) - 1 firm tomato, finely diced - 1 green bell pepper, finely diced - canola oil (? I didn't measure ; maybe 1/3 C?) or EVOO - Freshly squeezed lemon juice (~ 1.5 lemons; microwave 20 minutes first to get more juice) - 1 lg garlic clove, v finely minced - 1/4 to 1/2 Cup fresh spearmint, finely chopped - 1 large scallion, finely minced - ground cumin (?1.5 tsp) or to taste - ground coriander seed (1 tsp or to taste) - fine sea salt (1.5 to 2 tsp) - freshly ground black pepper - dash of powdered sumac (optional -- it give a bit of a nice sour taste that reminds me of tamarind in Asian cuisine) - you can also add finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley - you can add (optional) a bit of very finely ground red pepper or cayenne) Toss all ingredients together and taste as you proceed. Eat at room temp or cold. Eat plain or on salad greens such as romaine. Include some fresh or toasted flatbread (pita).
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grainlady_ks
16 years ago
Thanks for the recipe! That looks exactly like something I'd make; and it is printed and on the top of the to-do stack ;-).

I mill all kinds of legumes into flour and add it to baked goods to increase the protein and decrease the carbs, so it would not be unusual, or much of a stretch, to add lentil puree. I might try the recipe with chana dal (immature garbanzo beans) because they are very low-glycemic. I just LOVE options....

-Grainlady
trsinc
16 years ago
I printed it too. Thanks for posting about it. I'm always looking for sweets that are healthy. I love that this one is made with whole wheat flour.

Question, by green lentils do you mean the French green lentils? The regular, everyday lentils that my store sells (HEB) are what I would consider brown. But I often hear people referring to green as the common color so I'm a bit confused on that. I suppose there is a little green in the uncooked lentils but not enough that I would call them green. When these are cooked they are definitely all brown.

Anyway, I love lentils and consider them to be mild so I'll be trying this recipe. Seems like a good one for cooler weather.
donna_loomis
Original Author
16 years ago
Trsinc, since I've never bought lentils before, I won't be much help. There is a health food store across the street from my office and the lentils labeled red are actually orange, the green lentils were definitely green. However, after cooking they were more of a gray color. I'll bet Grainlady can help us here.
annie1971
16 years ago
I have to say, my first thought was "I'd rather eat a bowl of soup!" But there are great reviews so I guess something must be good.
sally2_gw
16 years ago
Okay, I've copied and pasted it onto my computer. I should keep an open mind. I was just the other day telling DH that I need to come up with some healthy snacks besides nuts and fruits, because I'm getting real tired of nuts and fruit. Well, maybe not that tired of fruit, but still, sometimes you want something different.

Sally
grainlady_ks
16 years ago
Green lentils don't look exactly green, but are more tan with a tinge of green, although fresh ones are more green than just a tinge. The range of color will go from green, to a tinge of green, to golden - depending on how long they have been exposed to ultraviolet light while in storage or shelved. They are about 1/4-inch in size. These are the ones most commonly available.

Brown lentils are smaller than green lentils and more plump. The color is russet brown.

Red lentils (almost salmon color) are about 1/8-inch in size. Hold their shape better for use in a salad.

Then there are the tiny French Green Lentils that are smaller and darker than regular green lentils.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: photos of lentils
trsinc
16 years ago
Thanks grainlady. That was kind of a mind bender, huh? LOL

The ones I buy must be green then. I'd bet they sit on the shelf for a long time. I don't know anyone who likes lentils which just floors me. I wonder if it's a genetic predisposition thing - like cilantro.
Ideefixe
16 years ago
Doesn't pureeing the lentils pretty much negate their fiber content? I love French lentils for soup and black ones as a side dish, but this seems sort of eh? to me.
althetrainer
16 years ago
Goody, goody! I am getting 20 pounds of green lentil this month. As long as I don't tell hubby and little man they probably will eat the cookies! LOL
grainlady_ks
16 years ago
Pureeing doesn't negate the fiber content, it just mixes the fiber (7.88 grams per 100 grams cooked lentils) with the liquid to make an emulsion/puree.

-Grainlady

lentil, yes lentil cookies!

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lentil, yes lentil cookies!

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