How to cook red lentil porridge. How to simply and deliciously cook lentil porridge according to a step-by-step recipe with photos

Lentil porridge - 7 simple and delicious recipes

Porridge

Scientists say that people ate lentils more than 8 thousand years ago. The people of the Middle East were the first to do this. Later, due to the migration of ancient tribes, this legume crop spread throughout Africa and then Europe. Various salads, soups and stews, purees, stews, as well as cutlets and pie fillings were prepared from it. Lentil porridge is no less popular today. It requires very little time to prepare, since the fruits of this unique crop boil very quickly.

Lentil porridge - general principles of preparation

You need to know that you can find four types of lentils on sale. They differ not only in appearance, but also in taste and cooking technology.

Red lentils are hulled (that is, freed from the hard shell) grains; it is perfect for making stew or porridge. It cooks very quickly, 10-15 minutes, and boils down quite heavily. It should be washed thoroughly before cooking.

Green lentils are unripe beans. It is also enough to rinse it, but it will take at least half an hour to cook.

Black lentils, which have a pleasant smell, are an excellent option for porridge; there is no need to soak them, and they will be ready in 20-25 minutes.

Brown requires soaking, like beans, for at least 12 hours in cold water. After this, it will cook for about 30-40 minutes. The main purpose is soups.

de Puy lentils are also available for sale . It is very tasty and does not take long to prepare, suitable for any dish, and does not require soaking. The main disadvantage is the high price.

In general, any type of lentil porridge is suitable for making porridge, but red, green or black are usually used.

Any of them must be thoroughly washed in two waters, lightly rubbing with your fingers. It should be poured into boiling water; during the cooking process it is usually necessary to remove the foam a couple of times.

You can add a variety of foods to lentil porridge; this grain is quite friendly and goes with almost everything. But still, don’t get carried away: it has its own pleasant taste.

Ready-made lentil porridge can be flavored with butter, vegetable or butter, unless, of course, you are eating this dish for pleasure and not for weight loss: lentil porridge is considered an excellent dietary product.

Milk porridge

Lentil porridge (it’s quick and easy to prepare) can also be sweet. Natural bee honey, fruits, dried fruits, and nuts are added to it. This treat would be a great breakfast option. To decorate it, you can use any seeds or chopped nuts.

Ingredients

For the dish you need to take:

lentils – 1 tbsp.;
full fat milk – 2 tbsp;
dried apricots – 6 pcs.;
honey (natural bee) – 1.5-2 tbsp. l.;
flax seeds - 1 tbsp. l.;
walnuts (shelled) – ½ tbsp.;
apples (sweet and sour) – 2 pcs.

Sequencing

Stages:

First, rinse the lentils thoroughly with cold water. Afterwards it is soaked overnight. In the morning you can start preparing the porridge.
The dried apricots will need to be washed and cut into small pieces. If the dried fruits have dried out, it is best to lightly soak them in warm water first.
The skin of the apple must be thinly cut. And also cut out the seed crown. The remaining part is cut into miniature pieces.
The apples along with the peeled nuts are poured into the blender bowl. These ingredients are crushed into a thick mass.
Milk is poured into a small saucepan with a thick bottom. When it boils, you can add legumes. You should immediately add flax seeds to the ingredients.
The porridge is then sent to cook over medium heat. The milk should boil. Afterwards, you can reduce the heat on the stove and cook the treat for 6-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
It is worth adding all the sweet ingredients to the fully prepared lentil mass. The ingredients are thoroughly mixed and you can remove the porridge from the stove.

The resulting porridge is laid out on plates. On top you need to add a portion of the apple-nut mixture.

Recipe 2. Lentil porridge with oyster mushrooms

In this lentil porridge, in addition to oyster mushrooms, you can, of course, add champignons and wild mushrooms, pre-boiled.

Ingredients

Lentils – 1 cup

Oyster mushrooms – 300 g

Garlic – 4 cloves

Any oil

Cooking method

For this lentil porridge, try using black or green lentils. It tastes better if the grains are not too boiled.

Boil the lentils, only then add salt.

Wash the oyster mushrooms, leave the small ones whole, chop the larger ones. If you took champignons, it is better to cut them into slices. Fry mushrooms with butter in a frying pan.

Finely chop the garlic with a knife, add to the mushrooms and fry everything together while stirring for about a minute.

Divide the lentil porridge into bowls and place a mound of mushrooms and garlic in the center.

With mushrooms

Lentils go well with a variety of mushrooms. Champignons and honey mushrooms fit perfectly into the dish. The latter can be taken pickled to decorate the treat.

Interestingly, the porridge according to this recipe is cooked on a base with the addition of tomato juice. The drink should be natural, but without pulp.

Ingredients

For the dish you need to take:

filtered water – 2 tbsp.;
lentils and tomato juice - 1 tbsp each;
tomato, onion, carrot - 1 pc.;
mushrooms – 180-200 g;
ground cardamom – 1 tsp;
salt, herbs.

Sequencing

Stages:

First, you will need to rinse the lentils thoroughly until the water is clear. Afterwards, pour into a bowl. The beans are filled with fresh water. The product is left in this form overnight.
In the morning, the water is drained and the cereal is washed. Next, the lentils should be filled with fresh water.
The prepared legumes are transferred to the pan. Champignons should also be sent there. The mushrooms are first peeled from the thin outer skin and cut into small pieces.
Together, the ingredients should cook for 10-12 minutes after boiling. They should be cooked over low heat, stirring frequently.
The next step is to take care of the vegetables. They are washed and cleaned. The onion should be chopped into small cubes, the carrots should be grated coarsely, the tomato should be cut into slices.
Chopped vegetables along with tomato juice are added to the porridge. Afterwards it is left to cook under the lid until fully cooked.
About 5-7 minutes before removing the pan from the heat, you need to salt the treat and add cardamom to it.

After thorough mixing, the porridge can be served. Chopped greens are already poured into the plates with the treat.

Recipe 3. “Lenten” lentil porridge

This lentil porridge is prepared without oil; if desired, it can be added to the finished dish.

Ingredients

Any lentils – 1 cup

Garlic – 4 cloves

Tomato paste – 1 tablespoon

Greens (dill, parsley, celery, mint, green onions - to your taste) - a large bunch

For this dish, it is better to use red lentils, but you can use any other one.

Cooking method

Boil the lentils, a minute before they are ready, add salt, tomato and garlic, passed through a press.

Sprinkle the finished lentil porridge generously with chopped herbs.

If desired, you can add cumin, sesame seeds, and chopped nuts to this dish.

Cooking in a slow cooker

Today, when almost every home has many different modern kitchen appliances, the cooking process is much simpler for the housewife. For example, you can make a delicious and very aromatic porridge from lentils in a slow cooker.

For this you will need:

1 cup green lentils;
salt;
1 onion;
0.5 l of water;
1 carrot;
any spices.

How to properly prepare lentil porridge in a slow cooker:

First peel the onion and then finely chop it.
Pour it into the multicooker bowl. Set the “Toasting” mode and set the timer for 7 minutes.
Grate the peeled carrots on a medium or coarse grater. Add it to the onion, stir and wait another 5 minutes.
Sort and wash the lentils.
Place it in a bowl and pour boiling water over the food. Immediately add the selected spices.
Set the “quenching” mode and wait about half an hour.
Add salt 5 minutes before the dish is ready.

The taste of the porridge will mainly depend on the spices introduced.

For example, Indians usually add cloves and turmeric, while Mediterranean people add the usual bay leaf and rosemary.

Here every housewife can show her imagination.

Recipe 4. Lentil porridge in Old Russian style

Ingredients

Lentils – 1 cup

Dry porcini mushrooms – a handful

Half an onion

Any vegetable oil

Cooking method

Rinse dry mushrooms thoroughly and soak overnight. Rinse again with cool water and cook in enough water. During the cooking process, make sure that the mushrooms do not overcook or boil away.

When they are ready, fish them out with a slotted spoon and put them in a bowl. Add washed lentils to the broth, diluting it with water if necessary, and cook them in mushroom broth until tender.

Finely chop the onion. If you love onions, then you can not chop them, but cut them into half rings and disassemble them into strips.

Chop the boiled mushrooms finely and place them together with the onions in a frying pan with heated oil. Add a couple of tablespoons of mushroom broth and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

When the lentils are cooked, quickly stir in the mushrooms and onions, cover with a lid and wrap the pan in a towel to simmer the lentil porridge.

A simple and delicious red lentil porridge recipe

There are five different types of lentils - green, yellow, brown, red and black - and each of them is good in its own way. It all depends on what kind of dish you need to prepare.

For example, for the simplest lentil porridge you will need:

300 ml of drinking water;
200 g red lentils;
a little salt and pepper;
25 g butter.

How to cook red lentil porridge:

First of all, the cereal must be thoroughly washed. It is better to do this in a colander under running water.
Place the washed fruits into a saucepan.
Fill them with water and place on the stove. When cooking over medium heat, the porridge will be ready within 10 minutes after boiling. All you have to do is add the oil and mix well.

This dish would be a good side dish, for example, for meat or an excellent option for a quick and nutritious breakfast.

Considering the unique vitamin and mineral composition of the original product itself, such porridge can be used for the prevention and treatment of many quite serious diseases.

Recipe 6. Lentil porridge with meat

For this dish, it is better to choose green lentils, or even brown ones.

Ingredients

Meat (pork, or you can even take veal heart) – 0.5 kg

Lentils – 1 cup

Garlic – 5-6 cloves

Greens - to taste

Tomato sauce of the “Krasnodar” type - optional and to taste.

Cooking method

Rinse the meat, remove films, cut into goulash or smaller and boil in a small amount of water.

Strain the broth and cook the lentils in it. 3 minutes before readiness, add meat and garlic cut into thin slices into the porridge.

When serving, add butter and sprinkle with herbs.

Recipe 8. Lentil porridge with dried apricots and raisins

For lentil porridge with dried apricots and raisins, only red lentils are suitable: they are the most tender.

Ingredients

Lentils – 1 cup

Raisins – half a glass

Dried apricots – half a cup already chopped

Any nuts – a good handful

Cooking method

Rinse dried fruits thoroughly and, if necessary, soak in cold water.

Cut dried apricots into small pieces.

Dry the nuts in the oven, microwave or in a dry frying pan and remove the film. Chop.

Place dried fruits in cold water, bring to a boil, add lentils and cook until tender.

If you don’t want to see half-cooked lentil grains on your plate, first boil the dried fruits, then cook the lentils using the strained broth and puree them with a blender. Add dried fruits to the puree.

If you prefer sweetish porridge, add a spoonful of sugar when cooking.

When serving, add butter and decorate the lentil porridge with nuts, sprinkling them on top.

How to cook green lentil porridge?

Compound:

1 tbsp. lentils;
1 onion;
1 carrot;
3 cloves of garlic;
1 parsley root;
seasonings, bay leaf;
water.

Preparation:

First of all, you need to thoroughly rinse the lentils and leave them in water overnight.
In the morning, you should rinse it again, add a liter of water, and let it cook. When the water boils, reduce the heat a little.
Peel the carrots with parsley and cut into small strips.
Add vegetables to lentils. Cover the porridge with a lid, leaving a hole for steam to escape. If you do not know how long it takes to cook lentils, then you need to constantly monitor them so that they do not overcook. The porridge will be ready in about half an hour. The water should evaporate a little.
While the porridge is cooking, you need to chop the onion.
Read also: Potato babka: a recipe for a national Belarusian dish
After 15 min. After the porridge boils, add seasonings, bay leaves and chopped onions and salt everything. Leave it to cook for another quarter of an hour, and then season the finished porridge with garlic and let it brew a little.

Recipe 11. Lentil porridge with buckwheat

If desired, you can prepare porridge from lentils and rice or bulgur. Rice or bulgur can be combined with any variety, but with buckwheat it is better to mix black or green.

Ingredients

Lentils – 0.5 cups

Buckwheat – 0.5 cups

Garlic – 3-4 cloves

Spicy herbs to taste: sage, rosemary; Some people like to add a little cumin to this porridge.

If desired, you can add some finely chopped champignons to the dish.

Cooking method

Rinse lentils and buckwheat.

Pour the cereal into a pan of boiling water and cook over low heat with the lid on. You may have to remove the foam a couple of times. A minute before readiness, add garlic squeezed through a press and herbs, if they are fresh, to the dish. Dried ones should be added earlier: about five minutes before the end of cooking.

If you decide to add champignons, you can cook them immediately along with the cereals. Or you can lightly fry it in butter, and only then put it in the finished porridge.

Step-by-step cooking with vegetables

Lentil porridge is often prepared with the addition of various vegetables. In this case, it is better to use red beans, as they cook quickly and do not require pre-processing.

To prepare this porridge you can take:

210 g red lentils;
0.5 liters of plain water;
2 tomatoes;
1 onion;
2 pods of sweet pepper;
1 carrot;
a couple of laurel leaves;
salt;
2 cloves of garlic;
fresh herbs;
lemon juice;
soy sauce;
ground pepper;
50 g butter.

The porridge is prepared in three stages:

First you can do the vegetables. Chop the onions, bell peppers and tomatoes randomly, and grate the carrots. First, sauté the onions and carrots in hot oil in a frying pan. As soon as they acquire a golden hue, add tomatoes and peppers with garlic. Sprinkle all this with lemon juice, pour over soy sauce and mix. Simmer over low heat, covered, for no more than a quarter of an hour.
After this, heat water in a saucepan. Pour the washed lentils into the boiling liquid, add salt, add a bay leaf and cook under the lid over low heat for 10 minutes after boiling again.
Combine both masses, mix and sprinkle with chopped herbs.

This porridge for dinner will be a real find. Juicy and very aromatic, it will appeal to all household members without exception.

Recipe 12. Lentil porridge with cracklings

This porridge can be prepared from any type of lentil, it doesn’t matter.

Ingredients

Lentils – glass

Pork lard – about 200 g

Garlic – 3-4 cloves

Onion optional

Cooking method

Let the lentils cook, after washing them thoroughly.

Meanwhile, prepare the cracklings. To do this, cut the lard into thin slices and start melting in a frying pan. Be careful not to burn the cracklings. At first they seem to take a long time to cook, but at some point they begin to fry very quickly. Immediately remove the cooked cracklings with a slotted spoon. Taking the pan off the heat is not enough: the oil cools slowly, and its temperature is high, so the cracklings will have time to burn.

Drain off most of the rendered fat; it can then be used in other dishes.

Fry the chopped garlic in the remaining fat.

Pour the fat and garlic into the cooked lentil porridge and add the cracklings.

How to cook porridge in a slow cooker

This recipe is simple and quite quick. It is used by both vegetarians and adherents of a healthy lifestyle:

Cooking porridge in a slow cooker will take 45-50 minutes. Calorie content – 165 kcal per 100 g.

Step-by-step preparation of the dish:

Rinse the cereal in water;
Peel peppers, onions, carrots, cut as desired;
Finely chop the garlic;
Pour oil into the multicooker bowl, set to simmer;
Place onions and carrots in it, fry them for 5 minutes;
Then add the pepper, fry it for another 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic to the vegetables;
Add washed cereal to the prepared vegetables, pour water over all ingredients, add salt;
Close the multicooker lid, set the “Buckwheat” mode and cook the dish for the specified time;
The finished dish can be served to the table.

Lentil porridge - tricks and useful tips

The green and black ones retain the shape of the grains well, while the red one gets overcooked. If half-collapsed grains irritate you, puree the dish with a blender and you will end up with a messy porridge.
Unlike peas, which love onions, lentils prefer garlic, and it is always added to dishes made from it. If you don’t like garlic, try replacing it with the same onion and curry, the taste will be different, but also pleasant.
When cooking until the very end, do not add salt to the dish. You can even add a teaspoon of sugar, like with beans.
To quickly chop garlic or walnuts, you must first crush it by pressing flat on it with a knife.

Useful links:

Useful tips and tricks

The following tips will help you prepare delicious lentil porridge:

It is necessary to pre-soak the legumes in a warm place (at least 3-5 hours, but better all night);
A variety of spices are perfect for lentils - dried ginger, turmeric, coriander, black pepper;
You shouldn’t use the “marbled” variety of legumes for porridge - it boils very poorly, so it’s best suited for salad.

Hearty lentil porridge can be prepared using more than 20 recipes. For example, with the addition of pork, stewed meat, vegetables and even honey and dried fruits.