Thursday, May 01, 2008

RECIPE ~ Red Lentil Hummus


This incredible recipe is straight from Domestic Affair. "Lentils tend to be easier to digest than chickpeas. They also cook up a lot faster. This variation from your standard hummus makes a great spread for sandwiches, burgers or falafels, or as a veggie dip." I tried it and love how smooth and creamy it turns out, and tastes very subtle while having a good hummus quality.

1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed really well
1 1/4 cups filtered water
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin, lightly toasted
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp flaxseed oil or olive oil
2 Tbsp tahini
2 cloves garlic, chopped
cayenne pepper or paprika to taste


Place the lentils, sundried tomatoes and water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until tender. Uncover and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Then stir in oil, tahini, garlic, cumin, turmeric and salt and puree with a hand-held blender, or scrape everything into a food processor and blend until smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with a olive oil or flax oil, and sprinkle with cayenne or paprika. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

VARIATIONS
Don't want to use sundried tomatoes? Replace with 1/2 cup roasted red peppers (homemade, or the kind you can buy at a deli or in jars), or 1/2 cup chopped artichoke hearts (home cooked, or you can use marinated ones, or the kind that come canned in water -- drain) and reduce the lentils' cooking water to 1 cup. Puree along with the other ingredients.

FOR INDIVIDUAL DOSHAS
VATAS a great Vata recipe
PITTAS best to replace red lentils with regular lentils (will need to cook longer if not using canned); minimize or omit garlic
KAPHAS reduce oil and tahini to 1 tsp each and add 2 Tbsp water when blending; minimize or omit salt

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

This sounds delicious. I often find chickpeas hard to digest, and love hummus, so this looks great. I can't eat tomatoes, so do you think a sweet red bell pepper would do the trick? Maybe eliminate 1/4c of water for this alteration?

Thanks for sharing!

Claudia Davila (Fran) said...

Hi Patty, that's a great idea. I would substitute the 1/4 cup of sundried tomatoes with 1/2 cup roasted red peppers (you can buy them in jars, or in bulk at deli counters, or make your own, or in a pinch give them a quick sautee til soft). Yes, reduce the amount of cooking water to just 1 cup since it's only cooking the lentils. Enjoy! :-)

Unknown said...

I make with chickpeas ..havent tried these..will try it soon

Mansi said...

this is my hubby's favorite kind of hummus, followed by the cilantro one:)

btw, my firs time here...ncie to read some great ayurvedic articles:)

Rupa said...

First time on your blog..Loved it..Nice ayurveda articles..Bookmarked..

Anonymous said...

That is a recipy . I think it would be a very delicious food. This picture is really eye-catching .I don’t like tomato so which item may I use as an alternative of tomato?

Claudia Davila (Fran) said...

Thanks for dropping by, Divya, Mansi and Rupa!

Serena, you can substitute the 1/4 cup of sundried tomatoes with 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, and reduce the amount of cooking water to just 1 cup. Or, also delicious are artichoke hearts -- again, use 1/2 cup chopped artichokes (marinated, or the kinds that come canned in water -- drain) and reduce cooking water to 1 cup.

Enjoy!

Claudia Davila (Fran) said...

I'll add these variations to the recipe itself... :-)

Lindsay I-F said...

oooo yum i am going to have to try this. i can't believe i have never come across your blog before i pretty much want to make about 90% of your vegan receipes

Claudia Davila (Fran) said...

That's great, Lindsay! I'm glad you're enjoying my blog :-)

Dazy said...

Just wanted to tell you that I made this dish last week and it was amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe, it is one we will be enjoying again and again!