Sautéed red lentils

 

Lentils are usually a star dish in winter, one of those spoon recipes that almost everyone likes and that offer hundreds of possibilities, stewed with meat, with sausages or just with vegetables, it is a practical and economical option.

But they are not only cooked hot, in summer it is common to see them in cold dishes, more and more people include them in their salads or prepare pâtés or dips with them.

In this post I propose a stir-fry, an easy and simple idea that will not take you more than 30 minutes to prepare.

The dish consists of a good sauté as a base, which provides a lot of flavor, red lentils and a few spices to give it the special and more personalized touch.

 

 

At a nutritional level, we can say that red lentils are a good source of protein, but they lack methionine and cysteine, the first being an essential amino acid that we must provide with other foods to obtain a complete protein.

As for cysteine*, our body is capable of synthesizing it thanks to methionine and serine, but if these amino acids are scarce, there is a possibility of supplement it.

 

Red lentils provide us with protein and are easy to digest because they have no skin.

 

To ensure that our red lentil stir-fry provides us with quality protein, we must use other foods that contain methionine and serine, such as whole grains, nuts, and seeds.

I told you about protein supplementation and how to do it in this post, check it out if you want to learn more about this topic.

But let’s continue with this delicious sautéed red lentils, taking into account that we want to obtain a high-quality protein, in addition to the sautéed vegetables as a base, we will add spices, nuts and seeds to our recipe. You could also add quinoa, but I prefer not to do so as not to increase the glycemic load of the dish too much. As the main ingredient is red lentils, I prefer to focus on them, I love quinoa, but it provides a very characteristic flavor that can “mask” that of the lentils, and in this dish I am not interested in this happening. If you are one of those people who find it difficult to digest legumes, the problem may be in the skin, with red lentils, you are in luck, they lack it and that is why they are much easier to digest and are tolerated by most people. Let’s continue with their nutritional contribution, in addition to proteins, they are a good source of fiber, vitamin B1 and minerals, such as iron and zinc.

 

This stir-fry is very aromatic, curry, turmeric and cumin are a winning combination.

 

What I like most about this stir-fry is the aroma and flavor of the toasted spices, it will inevitably invade your kitchen and you will remember it for the rest of the day, I love it!.

In this recipe I usually use 3 spices:

• Curry: a mixture of many spices that has an brutal aroma and tastes even better.
• Turmeric: not only provides flavor and color, but also all its incredible properties.
• Ground cumin: not too much so as not to cover up other flavors.

These three ingredients are what really give flavor and color to the dish, and make it a very special recipe.

 

 

Advantages of this recipe:

• Red lentils have a low GI, varying between 21 and 30 depending on the variety.
• They provide complex fiber that does not cause blood sugar spikes, on the contrary, it will keep your glucose levels stable for longer, thus avoiding hunger attacks or unexpected drops.
• Red lentils are very easy to digest since they do not have skin, if legumes make you feel regular, try these lentils, you will be surprised.
• You do not need to soak them, they cook in less than 15 minutes, just wash them and that’s it.
• Preparing this dish will take you likemuch 30 minutes, without prior preparation, perfect for the daily routine.

 

An aromatic curry powder, turmeric and ground cumin are responsible for the intense palatability of this dish.

 

About turmeric:

• Turmeric is a spice widely used in Indian cuisine, and also used in Chinese culture for medicinal purposes, it is attributed many health benefits.
• Curcumin is known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant power.
• It contains beta-carotenes that protect us against some types of cancer, such as skin cancer, also protects our liver and has antidepressant properties.

 

After reading all the good things about this recipe, I suppose you’ll want to try it, below I leave you the recipe box with all the details.