We just LOVE salads and we hope you do too. Eating healthy and right is important for us but equally important is to enjoy our food. This Greek Lentil Salad takes care of our health and our palate by providing us the proteins we need sustain us and the crunch and freshness we need to satisfy us. Serve it as a light lunch, packed lunch, for picnics or for potlucks!
Skip the Cheese and make this wonderful vegetarian salad, vegan!
Prep Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 20 min
Chill Time: minimum 15 min.
Serves – 2-4
Ingredients:
Brown or Green Lentils (Masur Daal) – 1 cup
Water – 8 cups
Smashed Garlic Cloves – 5 or to taste
Salt – to taste
Firm Tomatoes (Grape, Cherry or Roma) – 1 cup, cut
Kalamata Olives – 1/4 cup, chopped or sliced
Cucumber – 1/4, quartered
Basil Leaves – handful, chopped or sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 2 tbsp
Fresh Crushed Black Pepper – to taste
Red Chilli Flakes – to taste
Feta Cheese – to taste
Goat Cheese – to taste
Lime/Lemon Juice – to taste
Method:
1. Wash the Daal and rinse the water.
2. Boil 8 cups of Water and once it comes to a boil, add the washed Daal, Garlic and Salt.
3. Cook for 15-20 minutes stirring once in a while to ensure even cooking.
4. Cook till Daal is tender and cooked but not mushy.
5. Strain the Daal from the water and set aside. You may choose to keep the garlic or remove.
6. Set aside and allow the Daal to cool down completely.
7. Once cooled, add cut Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Cucumber, Olive Oil, Basil Leaves, Black Pepper, Chilli Flakes, Salt, Feta Cheese, Goat Cheese & Lime Juice.
8. Mix well, chill and enjoy!
Thanks for the great recipe. I like using garbanzo beans (chickpeas), canned and drained, instead of the lentils. Everything else remains the same.
Hello lovely lady’s
thxs for sharing such a great recipe! I will try this one for sure! maybe a silly question but isn’t masoor daal is red lentill? And if i would use the red lentill do i need to adjust the recipe?
very nice recipe.but can we use the yellow massor dal instead of brown or green.
Very nice recipe, can’t wait to try it out.
One question though- can we add less water while steaming the lentils, so the lentils get cooked in that water itself and we don’t waste the nutrients.
Hi Parul,
You really need ample amount of water when cooking any kind of beans. If you don’t want to waste the water, you can always use it to knead dough for chapati. It will make it more flavorful.
OK thanks..
But how are we seeing both Hetal & Anuja together? Didn’t Anuja move to India?
Can we pressure cook the lentil?
Hi Radha,
Lentils cook very fast and pressure cooking them may make them mushy. This salad needs the lentils to be firm and hold their shape.
What can I say ladies…this recipe has the total YUM factor! I know what I’ll be making for lunch today, will probably use puy lentils for added bite.
Will skip the cheese though, I’m not eating anything that comes out of a goat 😉
Just to add that I have made this again for an evening snack, even more delicious this time as grated the garlic in with the cooking lentils, and crumbled some Cheshire cheese with apricot in at the end. Made a great filling early supper, and more than enough leftover for lunch tomorrow.
Happy summer days 🙂
I love seeing you when you taste your recipe at the end of the demonstration. Not only do the ingredients sound and look good but your facial expressions make me want to try it even more. Thanks.
Haha, your soo right.
GOOD ONE.
More and more vegetarian recipes please.
Ahuja is not moving, it was April fools jokes. Don don don.
Wonderful Salad. Thanks for posting in.
How are we seeing both Hetal & Anuja together? Didn’t Anuja move to India?