Recipe by Stacy Dong

www.zainelicious.blogspot.com

 

Health Magazine (March 2006) hails lentils as one of the five healthiest foods and here's why. It is an all-star in terms of dietary fibre. It is an excellent source of molybdenum and folate. On top of that, it is a good source of iron, protein, phosphorus, copper, thiamin and potassium.

Lentils come in a variety of colours. There are the common brown/green lentils. Other varieties include black, yellow, red and orange lentils. The brown/green hold their shape better after being cooked than the rest of the varieties. In terms of taste, they vary very little.

Z's Lentil with Brown Rice & Pumpkin

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of organic brown rice
1/4 cup of organic brown lentil
1/4 cup of organic red lentil
1/4 cup of cubed organic pumpkin
3 cups of water/homemade chicken stock

Rice cooker method:

To prepare the lentils, measure and spread them out flatly on a plate to check for any foreign particles; e.g. small stones, etc. After this, place lentils and brown rice in a strainer and rinse them under cold running water.

Place all ingredients in the rice cooker with the water/chicken stock and cook, which will take about 30-40 minutes.

Stove top method:

Repeat Step 1 as per the above, except clean each of the lentils and the brown rice separately.

Place the brown rice and brown/green lentils in a small pot with the water/chicken stock and bring to a boil. After that, turn down the heat to medium low heat and simmer, partially covered.

After 10-15 minutes of cooking time, throw in the red lentils and the pumpkins and stir. Add more water/stock accordingly.

Stir every 5-10 minutes until cooked (approximately 30-45 minutes).
 

Tip:

When lentils are cooked with grains such as rice, it becomes a whole protein dish; i.e. protein that contains all the amino acids for the dietary needs of humans. Complete proteins are usually found in meat, poultry, eggs, seafood and dairy products.