Savoury Lentils

This is a basic savoury lentil mix that can then be used in various ways.

Suggestions for use:

1. Make some brown rice pikelets or pancakes (just make normal pikelets, leave out the sugar, and add some leftover cooked brown rice).  Roast some cubed potato and sweet potato.  Serve by piling up the pancakes, savoury lentils and roasted veg.  Nice with steamed green vegetables.

2. Make something a bit like a soft taco.  Warm some pita bread, spoon in the lentil mix and top with tomato, sliced lettuce and sprouts if you like them.  This is also nice with the roasted cubed potato and kumara (orange sweet potato).

3. You can use it as a dip.  Serve with cut up pita bread.

4. Just serve it on toast (like baked beans on toast) or in toasted sandwiches.

5. Pile up mashed potato and serve a huge dollop of savoury lentils on top.  Add some other vegetables on the side.

Savoury Lentils Recipe

Cook about 1 cup of brown lentils until soft.  (Option:  For extra vitamins and flavour you can add a chopped strip of kombu (a type of seaweed) in when you cook it.  Cut the kombu up into thin strips with scissors and you wont notice it when its cooked.  I often add a strip of kombu when cooking beans/lentils.)

When the lentils are well cooked:

Fry a chopped onion slowly until soft.  Add a crushed clove of garlic and curry powder (1 to 2 teaspoons) or curry paste or your own preferred mix of curry spices.  Cook it through.

Add the lentils.

In a small jug, combine

• ½ to 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 to 2 tablespoons tamari or shoyu (soy sauce)
• about ½ cup water
• 3 to 4 teaspoons cornflour

Mix this into the lentils.  Cook, stirring, until it boils and thickens.

And you’re done!

You can also substitute peanut butter for tomato paste.