Announcing Event--"Lentils Mela"

Lentils Mela......Starting now......

After participating in few event, I got an urge to announce an event in my blog. I solely depend my fellow blogger and visitors to make this event a great success..

I was thinking about the event, I had many ideas but u know what...its already been announced by other blogger. Finally I decided on Lentils Mela huhhhhh huge sigh of relief....

The reason to select lentils..... They are very nutritious and has more health benefits... I was attracted to a quote by Laurie Colwin


“Lentils are friendly—the Miss Congeniality of the bean world.”

Facts about Lentils....

Lentils are shaped like a lens. In fact, lens is the Latin word for lentil. The size and appearance of lentils varies depending on the variety.

According to the Bible, Esau was tricked into selling his birthright for a pottage of lentils. (Genesis 25:34)

Lentils have been found in Egyptian tombs that date from 2400 BC. It may have been used as an aphrodisiac. They also thought that the lentil enlightened the minds of children, making them more cheerful and studious.

ANCIENT LENTILS
The Egyptians are also thought to have introduced the lentil to the Greeks and Romans. In Ancient Greece, Hippocrates prescribed lentils and slices of dog for liver ailments.
Lentils were probably cultivated in the gardens of Babylon in 800 BC.

EASTERN WASHINGTON The lentil is a cousin of the bean, and both are a part of the legume family. All legumes are seeds that grow within pods. (source)


Types of Dals (Lentils)

Chana dal--The words "chana dal" mean "split chickpeas." (Chana gram is a whole chickpea). Chana dal are baby chickpeas that have been split and polished. They look and taste like small kernels of sweet corn and work well in soups, salads, and rice dishes.The most popular legume in India. Chana dal is a very versatile dried split yellow lentil with a slightly sweet taste, nutty flavor. It is used in variety of vegetable dishes. It can be cooked until soft for the dish called simply dal (yellow dal), or as in southern India it can be used as a spice.


Tur dal/Toor Dal/Tuvardal/Toovhar dalToor ---Dal is a glassy dark yellow split pea (pigeon pea), similar to chana dal. Toovar da exhibits a thick gelatinous/meaty consistency. They take a little longer to cook than moong or masoor dal/dahl. These yellow split peas can be made into dal which is served with side dish of vegetables, rice or flat breads.The South Indian delicacy, sambhar which is an accompaniment for dosa, idli or even rice is cooked with toordal.


Urad Dal (whole and Split)Also called Black Beluga Lentils. Whole Urad dal/dahl is used more like a chili or stew than a soup or dal/dahl. These lentil-like beans have black skins covering creamy white interiors. Whole urad dal/dahl derive their strong, rich, earthy flavor from the black skins and have an uncanny ability to absorb flavors. Split and without the skin Urad dal is a white lentil used along with rice to make dosas, the crisp pancakes of southern India and other Rice preparations. In South India, Urad dal is used as a seasoning with mustard seeds for curries.


Mung dal/Moong Dal (whole and split)Whole moong is actually a bean or pulse and is known as 'sabat moong' . They are small green beans fairly used in India, China, Thailand and Japan. Sprouted they are used in salads or stir fries with lemon juice or vinaigrette. In India Moong dal is used, which is split moong beans with the skin left (green skin yellow lentil) on or without the skin(yellow lentil). It is used to make delicious dals and curries. Moong lentils in particular is very easy to digest and take on seasonings and spices very well.


Masoor DalWhile whole, this bean is greenish-brown, even though they can be prepared whole (masoor beans) Indian recipes often call for the skinned and split masoor, which is called masoor dal. Skinned split Masoor beans are actually called red lentils (orange in color). They have a dark, earthy flavor and a creamy texture. These lentils pair well with tomatoes and kheema/mince meats, sausages, and may be served on their own as a side dish, or incorporated into soups, stews, salads and Indian dal.



Checkout the nutrition and Benefit details here.....



The Rules is very simple....



1. Prepare a recipe using Lentils as the dominating ingredient and post about it on your blog.


2. Non-veg/Veg recipes are allowed.It may be a starter, breakfast, dinner, dessert.. anything that's innovative.


3.While doing the post, make sure to link back to this event announcement. Use of Logo would be appreciated..


4.Mail the following details to ashwinispicycuisine(at)gmail(dot)com with the subject line reading "Lentils Mela"

Your name

Your blog name

Name of the entry URL of your post

A photo


4. Not owning a blog isn't an excuse for you not sending in entries. You can always mail me the above-said details and they will be included in the roundup!!!!


5. Older posts with Lentils can be included if it is republished as a new post.


6. The last date for sending in entries is March 15 2009...

There is no limit for entries...Get set Go....Start cooking!!!!!