Fried lentils
October 14, 2011 • Category: Mezze/Appetizers
Najmieh Batmanglij in her New Food of Life describes a popular street food in Iran as being popped lentils: Lentils fried in oil and eaten as is.
The idea intrigued me and I tried it with some adjustments: Parboiled the lentils till soft, pan-fried them in olive oil and seasoned them with salt, Aleppo pepper and cumin.
Served in a bowl and eaten with one’s fingers.
INGREDIENTS: 4 to 6 servings
- 1 cup of lentils
- Spices: Salt, 1 tsp Aleppo pepper (substitute paprika or chili powder), 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
METHOD:
- Boil the lentils in several cups of water till tender; drain and spread on paper towels to dry for one hour or so.
- Heat the olive oil and pan-fry the lentils for a few minutes; season the lentils and transfer to a bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Comments
23 Comments • Comments Feed
Nicole says:
I have that book!! (Ashamed to say I’ve never made anything from it, I treat it more like a museum piece) but i must say you make it look easy (and delicious as always)
Bon weekend!
On October 14, 2011 at 7:25 pm
MEMORIESandCOLORS says:
Got to try this dish! feeling hungry by just looking at it!
On October 14, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Belinda @zomppa says:
Ooo – maybe this will become a popular street food in the U.S.!
On October 14, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Richa@HobbyandMore says:
This is such a healthier and yummy snack!. i love this snack !
On October 14, 2011 at 9:58 pm
Rosa says:
Mmmhhh, that dish is great! I like everything about it.
Cheers,
Rosa
On October 15, 2011 at 3:44 am
deana says:
I must see what happens if you pop a lentil raw??? Would it soften it or would it still be hard as a rock??? Interesting notion but I think I would try your method first!!! It looks delicious and I do love aleppo pepper!
On October 15, 2011 at 5:40 am
Joanne says:
The crispy outside on those lentils must be so delicious!
On October 15, 2011 at 11:31 am
lisaiscooking says:
This is like lentil popcorn, and I love popcorn! What a fantastic and healthy snack. I definitely have to try this.
On October 15, 2011 at 12:32 pm
Caffettiera says:
This surely must be snack heaven.
On October 15, 2011 at 3:10 pm
T.W. Barritt says:
Since this was an inspiration, were you happy with the results? It is an intriguing recipe.
On October 15, 2011 at 4:41 pm
Joumana says:
@T.W. I thought I would try it again with a popcorn popper, at some point..
On October 15, 2011 at 5:02 pm
Murasaki Shikibu says:
This is going to be my snack for this afternoon. It will be healthier than eating potato chips!
On October 16, 2011 at 4:18 am
Sandhya says:
I find it fascinating how many similarities there are between Iranian and Indian dishes.
Around New Delhi, split yellow mung is parboiled and deep fried then seasoned with black salt.This is had with tea as an afternoon snack.
Sandhya.
I have roasted lentils for certain recipes. It has never popped only got burnt! Then again I wasn’t trying to pop them, so maybe with a different method it could.
On October 16, 2011 at 7:06 am
Alaiyo Kiasi says:
I have lentils–brown, green, and red–in such volume that it would be foolish of me not to give this Fried Lentil recipe a try. I know my lentil-loving husband and son would enjoy lentils as a snack.
Alaiyo
On October 16, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Oui, Chef says:
I adore lentils but have never had them fried, they look amazing.
On October 16, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Kalyn says:
They sound really fantastic!
On October 16, 2011 at 6:59 pm
heguiberto says:
This looks good, what a great snack food. I am surprised that the big food companies haven’t found a way to market it here is the US. I keep thinking of corn nuts when I look at these lentils. I bet its much more nutritious, lentils pack a lot of protein I’ve got to try it. We love Najmieh’s cooking.
H
On October 17, 2011 at 10:34 am
domi says:
Etonnante cette recette, je ne savais pas que l’on pouvait frire des lentilles…
On October 19, 2011 at 11:17 am
Sarah says:
Made fried lentils 2 times and I’m going to make it tonight too. I’ve changed the recipe to my taste and I added caramelize onions and changed the spices to what I have at home. LOVE IT!
On October 25, 2011 at 6:14 am
Joumana says:
@Sarah: Your version with the caramelized onions sounds fantastic!
On October 25, 2011 at 9:43 am
Natalie says:
Looks great! I’ve never had fried lentils.
On November 1, 2011 at 5:38 pm
Carol C says:
I just made these, they are wonderful!!!!
On March 11, 2012 at 10:48 am
Dee says:
Wonderful recipe!
Very tasty.
Greetings from Estonia.
On April 27, 2013 at 5:04 am