What is the difference between colored lentils

Green lentils keep their firm texture after cooking. Dried, green lentils do not contain fat. Moreover, green lentils can be sprouted and added to salads. Red lentils refer to the orange to red color lentils, most commonly used in Middle Eastern and Indian food dishes while green lentils refer to gray-green color lentils with a firm texture. Red lentils are usually available in the split form while green lentils come with their seed coats.

Red lentils take less time to cook around 30 minutes while green lentils take comparatively long time to cook around 45 minutes. Red lentils are cooked as dhal, baby food, soups, and casseroles while green lentils are used in warm salads, side dishes, stuffing, and casseroles. Red lentils are the split lentils mainly used in Middle Eastern and Indian dishes. They take around 30 minutes to cook.

Red lentils become mushy when cooked and have a sweet flavor. On the other hand, green lentils come with the seed coat. Therefore, they take a longer time to cook. They cook fairly faster than beans, because they are smaller in size than beans.

Historically, lentils are known to be the oldest legume to be grown in the Middle East. There are three main types of lentils: Green, red and brown. Brown lentils are the most abundant, and probably the ones most commonly found on supermarket shelves.

They do have a greenish tint, especially the Spanish variety of brown lentils. The green lentils have two varieties: The French green variety or the Lentilles du Puy, which are quite similar, except that the Lentilles du Puy come from the French town of Puy, where they are cultivated.

Green lentils have a dark green color which is glossy, and their earthy flavor is stronger than that of the brown ones. They also tend to cost more than any other variety. The red ones, even though called red lentils, are actually orange in color. These are the rarest ones, and in fact, they are almost only found in Indian or Middle Eastern markets. There are a number of varieties of the red lentils, including: Crimson, red chief, petite golden and canary gold.

The seeds, when removed from the pods, also vary in color. Lentils may be sold either whole or split, and you could also buy them canned. Red lentils, when cooked for a long time, will break into fragments, as the hulls have been removed. Due to this fact, red lentils are good for stew thickeners. Green lentils cook the firmest, as they retain their shape with continued cooking. They normally turn brownish and tender, and have the strongest flavor. They need much less cooking time less than ten minutes.

And they disintegrate into a mush when cooked. Because of this second point, red lentils are unsuitable for most lentil recipes. So you should avoid using them for vegetarian moussaka, lentil roast, lentil shepherd's pie, veggie burgers, or anything similar. But that doesn't mean that red lentils have no place in your kitchen. Another good use is in making Indian dhal. To do that, boil the lentils in plenty of water. In a separate pan, lightly fry some onion, garlic and tomato.

Serve with rice or naan bread. You might also come across yellow lentils. These are very similar to the red variety, and should be cooked in the same way. The second broad class of lentils include brown the most common type in the USA , green, and black, as well as specialist varieties such as Puy grown in the Haute-Loire region of France , "french" which are actually Puy lentils but are grown in North America , beluga so-called because they resemble beluga caviar and macachiados used in Mexican cuisine.

These varieties differ considerably in taste and texture. But when it comes to cooking, they are more or less interchangeable. If your recipe doesn't specify a particular variety, use whatever you have to hand.