My First Time Cooking Brown Lentils

[OhioTom76]

I recently came across a recipe for Mujaddara, which uses brown lentils. I've never eaten them nor attempted to cook them from scratch, so I am a bit excited to try them out today for the first time. I know there are a variety of different kind of lentils, but the ones I got are the greenish-brown ones pictured below (they look yellow in that picture, but mine are darker).

Is it best to soak and/or rinse these first? Or can I just simply cook them from start to finish in one pot with some water? What do they even taste like? Do they all hold their shape, or do they turn to mush when cooked? What are some of your favorite recipes using these?

 

[Food4thought]

All lentils must be soaked for around 12 hours before cooking. You can then put them in a pot with fresh water and cook them for 30 to 40 minutes. They should be slightly firm but not hard. If they turn to mush you may have cooked them for too long, unless you want to make dhal, which is a smooth lentil dish.

Lentils are very nutritious and taste a little nutty. They are related to beans and peas. Usually they are part of a dish rather than being cooked and served on their own. They go well with vegetables, rice and thick sauces made with tomatoes .

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

All lentils must be soaked for around 12 hours before cooking.

Lentils do not need soaking for 12 hours before cooking - that is beans. In the UK at least there is a very definite distinction. Beans and Pulses are different. Pulses are lentils such as red lentil, brown lentils, puy lentils, etc, Beans are things like chickpeas, kidney beans, butter (great northern) beans, broad (fava) beans etc. It is only the latter than need soaking overnight and even that is not mandatory, there are ways around it using quick soak methods that can be done in 2 hours using boiling water.

This BBC Good Food article is a good read on lentils. http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/lentils

The brown lentils above that @OhioTom76 has are probably normal unskinned red lentils and are really nice. I would not be surprised if he were to split one open and find 2 red split red lentils inside!
Just follow your recipe and do what it states. These will hold their shape to an extent. The extent is overcooking at which point the skins split and you get the red lentil result where they disintegrate and form a smooth paste with skins in it! The skin is perfectly edible and has loads of fibre in it. It just makes the cooking times longer.

 

[winterybella]

Well I have never soaked my lentils and always cook them with rice. I have thought to try something else but just never got around to it . Different packaging I am thinking the ones in the original post are the ones I use.

 

[DancingLady]

Soaking lentils is not necessary for them to fully cook, but it helps remove some of the things that can cause gas.

Lentils will hold their shape pretty well. There are a number of different colors of lentils, but they are pretty much all the same as far as how they cook.

My favorite way to cook lentils is to make a stew of them by adding a good ham hock or beef bone for some flavor.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Lentils will hold their shape pretty well

As a rule, lentils without skins tend to disintegrate into a thick purée, lentils with skins will hold their shape.
The main lentil I use is the split red lentil which (given the name split) does not have its skin and therefore does not hold its shape and tends to form a puree!

 

[DIna00]

I haven't cooked with brown lentils for a while, but I think I remember a trick I used to do to keep them from splitting - sauté them dry, right out of the bag, in a bit of oil. They will start to shrivel up slightly, and at that point they should be good, you can add liquid and they should keep their shape and not turn to mush.

 

[Berties]

my favourite lentil is the green puy lentil it is hard to over cook and has many uses,casseroles ,i do a pilaf style dish cooked with stock and find cut vegetables,
the red lentil for me is a good for overcooking to bind ingredients together i.e. making pulse patys

 

[wahmed]

best recipe for brown lentils. soak for 30 mins and boil in a pressure cooker with salt, chilli powder and tumeric until tender and it is like a thick soup. Add about 3/4 cup milk and cook for 10 mins on low. in a frying pan add 1/2 cup oil and 1 sliced onion. fry until brown and pour contents over lentils instaly. garnish with coriander and eat with roti or rice