Lentil Recipes

So below are  a  few lentil recipes: 

LENTILS, MIXED VEG AND BABY RICE

Ingredients: Lentils, fish, baby rice,  some steamed mixed  veg ( chopped carrots, peas, sweet corn and  runner beans)

Cook  the lentils (see how to prepare lentils here) and the  fish. do this separately so that the fish bones can be removed easily before mixing with the lentils.  when the  lentils  are  almost done add  some oil (olive/ sunflower),    and cooked mixed veg.

Note: the vegetables  should be  soft so its easy for baby to "chew" or  rather mash with their gums.

It's perfectly OK to stop here and feed  your baby,  with the lentil/veg mix, especially if you manage to get  as little water as possible  left in the cooked lentils. 

Alternatively you can add baby rice, one teaspoon at a time  till you get the consistency you want. 

Sorry about the  crappy images,  i was already half way feeding my daughter before i remembered to take a picture

For younger babies  just  starting solids, you can  blend the lentil fish and veg mixture, into a puree and   serve with or without  the baby rice.

For older children the vegges add  a bit of  texture to the meal

LENTILS AND  RICE ( BROWN / WHITE)

Wash 1 part  rice  and  1/2part  lentils.

Add   water  and  cook  till rice  and  lentils  are  cooked  through.  And  with the rice  slightly over cooked and very soft. 

You can  add  some fish/meat/ crafish,  a bit of  oil/ butter or  sauce/ stew  of your  choice. 

LENTILS AND RIPE PLANTAIN / SWEET POTATO

get  your cooked  lentils,   

add ripe boiled plantain or substitute  with sweet potato- chop into  small cubes 

   

A bit of butter or  a small teaspoon of  veg oil ( i usually use  sunflower oil or  olive oil) 

a bit  of  fish or  finely chopped up meat  or  chicken is  optional 

 mash  all together. Done!

LENTIL,  LAMB  CARROTS  AND  SWEET POTATO  

This  is  actually  a  soup recipe but  it  works  really well and  very tasty... i have  modified it  for  a baby version

• Chopped small onions
• Lamb- cubed into small pieces ( seasoned with some  cumin,  thyme, coriander and  a very tiny bit  of  salt or you omit the salt altogether.  you can substitute with any other meat) 
• 1 medium carrot- cubed into small pieces
• Small sweet potato - cubed 

Note: the  cubes  should be no bigger than a typical cube of  sugar.  If your baby is  still very young  you may want  to chop the ingredients  more finely  so  that  it can be  smoother - or blend it up at the end  to make a puree.

Fry the  onions in some  oil, add the meat and  brown for  a bit. 

 Add your  carrot and  potato pieces  and  let  cook for  a few minutes . 

Add  some stock  or  water  to  cover  the mixture   when it  starts  to  simmer  add he  lentils.  

Note: if  using  homemade meat stock,  do not  add any  more  salt.  And  also reduce  the  quantity and  aďd water  to  it.  remove  then fat  from thr  stock before use.  To make  thia  easy,  put  the  stock into  the fridge overnight,  all the  fat wouldn them solidify on the  top and  you can simply scrape it  off. 

Cook  till  all the ingredients  are  tender. Adding some  more  water   as  needed. 

When  cooked,  the  lentils  and  part of  the sweet potato would  have  dissolved  to  thicken the  soup  and  the  meat  will also be very  soft   and  the  carrots  will give  some  texture.

Do let me know if you try any of these!

Have a blessed day.