Scientists say that people ate lentils more than 8 thousand years ago. The first to do this were the inhabitants of the Middle East. Later, due to the migration of ancient tribes, this bean culture spread throughout Africa, and then Europe. Various salads, soups and stews, mashed potatoes, stews, as well as meatballs and pie fillings were prepared from it. No less popular today is porridge from lentils. It takes very little time to cook it, as the fruits of this unique culture are very quickly boiled.

A simple and delicious recipe for red lentil porridge

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 cook.

For example, for the simplest porridge from lentils you will need:

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

How to cook porridge from red lentils:

  1. The first step is to rinse the cereals thoroughly. This is best done in a colander under running water.
  2. Pour the washed fruits into the pan.
  3. Pour them with water and put on the stove. When cooking over medium heat, the porridge will be ready in 10 minutes after boiling. It remains only to put the oil and mix well.

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

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

Cooking in a slow cooker

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

To do this, you will need:

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

How to cook porridge from lentils in a slow cooker:

  1. Peel the onion first, and then chop finely.
  2. Pour it into the bowl of the multicooker. Set the mode "Toasting" and set on the timer for 7 minutes.
  3. Grate peeled carrots on medium or large grater. Add it to the onion, mix and wait another 5 minutes.
  4. Sort and rinse the lentils.
  5. Put it in a bowl and pour the products with boiling water. Immediately enter the selected spices.
  6. Set the quenching mode and wait about half an hour.
  7. 5 minutes before the dish is ready to introduce salt.

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

For example, Indians usually add cloves and turmeric, and the inhabitants of the Mediterranean - our usual bay leaf and rosemary.

Here, every housewife can show her imagination.

Hearty Meat Dish

If you add a little any meat to the lentils, then the dish will turn out to be even more satisfying and nutritious.

Take, for example, an option for which it is necessary:

  • 450 g of pork;
  • 1 full glass of lentils;
  • 250 ml of water (or broth);
  • 1 onion;
  • 150 g of tomato paste;
  • salt;
  • vegetable oil;
  • pepper.

How to cook porridge from these products? Everything is simple here:

  1. The first step is to rinse and cut the meat into pieces.
  2. Finely chop the onion.
  3. Rinse lentils thoroughly.
  4. Heat oil in a frying pan.
  5. Slightly fry the meat with onions in boiling fat, adding a little salt and pepper to them.
  6. Transfer prepared foods to a cauldron or deep pan with a thick bottom.
  7. Add the paste after diluting it in water or broth.
  8. Pour lentils and mix.
  9. Simmer over low heat for 50 minutes.

It turns out just amazing, very tasty and satisfying porridge with meat. All the components in it are well boiled, without turning into an ugly mess.

Read also:lentil soup

Sweet lentil porridge

Children will like sweet porridge more. It can be prepared with the addition of various fruits. And to make such a dish is better from green lentils.

This species includes unripe fruits, which, even after prolonged cooking, retain their original shape.

To prepare such a porridge, you need to take:

  • 210 g lentils;
  • a couple of glasses of water;
  • 2 ripe bananas;
  • 6 - 7 pcs. dried apricots;
  • 8 g of cinnamon;
  • 25 g of raisins.

To make such a mess, you must:

  1. Rinse the lentil beans and pour cold water over them for several hours. Unripe fruits should swell a little.
  2. Rinse the beans again, and then transfer them to the pan, pour a measured amount of water and cook until almost ready, remembering to stir occasionally. Cinnamon can be added already at this stage.
  3. Soak dried apricots for 10 minutes in water.
  4. Grind bananas into gruel. This can be done with an ordinary plug.
  5. Add the mass with dried apricots to the porridge and mix.

After this, it remains only to shift the finished dish into a plate and serve, sprinkled with raisins and cinnamon.

How to cook with mushrooms

Extremely tasty and aromatic, porridge from lentils with mushrooms is obtained. Thanks to the gifts of the forest, it becomes even more satisfying.

In this case, to work you will need:

  • 200 g lentil beans;
  • 1 clove of garlic;
  • 250 g of champignons (fresh);
  • 1 carrot;
  • 0.5 l of water;
  • 1 onion;
  • some greens, ground pepper and sodium chloride;
  • sunflower oil.

Method of cooking porridge:

  1. Rinse the beans washed under running water in a pan.
  2. Pour them with water and put on fire. Once the liquid boils, make the flame smaller.
  3. Cook lentils for 30 minutes, periodically removing the resulting foam from the surface.
  4. During this time, you can prepare other products for work: cut the washed mushrooms into cubes, finely chop the peeled onions, chop the garlic and grate the carrots.
  5. Separately, in a frying pan in heated oil, first lightly pass the onions. Then add the carrots with garlic and fry the vegetables together for about 3 minutes.
  6. Pour mushrooms into the pan and mix. Fry them with vegetables until the moisture that has formed is evaporated.
  7. Fold the boiled beans into a colander and strain well.
  8. Add them to the pan along with herbs and spices. Mix everything well and cover.
  9. Remove the pan immediately from the heat and let the porridge brew a little.

After 5 minutes, it will be possible to serve it to the table. Porridge really turns out to be very satisfying. But due to the low calorie content of the starting products, it can be eaten in any quantities, without fear for the consequences for the figure.

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 quickly boil and do not require pre-treatment.

To prepare such a cereal, you can take:

  • 210 g red lentils;
  • 0.5 l 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 greens;
  • lemon juice;
  • soy sauce;
  • ground pepper;
  • 50 g of butter.

Preparing porridge in three stages:

  1. First, you can do vegetables. Chop the onions, bell peppers and tomatoes, and grind the carrots. First, in a preheated oil in a pan, you need to pass the onions with carrots. Once they have 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 under a lid for no more than a quarter of an hour.
  2. After that, heat water in a pan. Pour washed lentils into the boiling liquid, add salt, put bay leaf and cook under the lid over low heat for 10 minutes after boiling again.
  3. Combine both masses, mix and sprinkle with chopped herbs.

Such porridge for dinner will be a real find. Juicy and very fragrant it will appeal to all households, without exception.

Lentil milk porridge

It is very easy to cook lentil porridge in milk. It can be safely attributed to the recipes from the category of "simple and tasty."

For one of the most interesting options you will need:

  • 1 full glass of lentils;
  • 2 apples
  • 50 - 55 g of liquid honey;
  • 0.5 l of whole milk;
  • 6 fruits of dried apricots;
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped flax seeds;
  • ½ cup peeled walnuts.

To prepare such milk porridge, you must:

  1. Pour the washed lentils with water and leave overnight. It is clear that this must be done in advance.
  2. Rinse the dried apricots well and cut into slices.
  3. First peel the apples and then remove the seeds from their kernels.
  4. Grind the remaining apple pulp with nuts in a blender.
  5. Put swollen lentils into the pan. Add milk with flax seeds to it and heat over medium heat.
  6. After boiling, make the flame smaller and cook for 5 minutes.
  7. Introduce honey with dried apricots into the prepared porridge and mix.
  8. Put the still hot mass on a plate, and place fragrant nut-apple puree next to it.

This dish is good for breakfast. The porridge is very tender, tasty and aromatic. Yes, and it is being prepared in literally a few minutes. Today, in conditions of constant rush and lack of time, this is especially important.

Similar:More from the author: