Chickpea, Lentils, Kidney beans and other pulses - some questions!!

bigmuffins

For cheap lentils, chickpeas etc try asian supermarkets, also spices
Although Tesco/Asda in Asian areas also have the same stuff at similar prices nowadays (not the variety though!)
Can also get ghee, veg, chapatti flour, basmati rice, gram flour (besan: used for pakoras/bhajis) at very good prices compared to usual supermarket prices.
Well worth a visit if you are in the area!

Can also buy things like tinned chickpeas at good prices - 25p or less a can!
Yogurt - 3 or 4 tubs for £1, Garlic/Ginger/fresh coriander etc in vast quantities not piddly little prepackaged containers.
And this is in London! Will be cheaper elsewhere!

Happy shopping!

kittiwoz

As far as toxins are concerned this is apparently less of a problem nowadays as they have increasingly been bred out. However you should boil red kidney beans hard for ten minutes, then strain them and chuck the cooking water. After that you can boil them in fresh water or add them to soups or stews to cook.

Salt and acid (like in tomatoes) both slow the cooking process of lentils and beans so you can either add these ingredients towards the end of cooking or increase your cooking time. You can deliberately add salt and acidic ingredients to recipies containing lentils, especially towards the end of cooking, to help them keep their shape and prevent them from going mushy. Conversely alkalis seem to speed up the cooking process and I have previously taken advantage of this by adding bicarbonate of soda to the cooking water. This will only work if you are going to drain and rinse the lentils, otherwise your final dish will taste unpleasantly of bicarb. Generally beans and lentils with the skin on like continental lentils and lentils verts keep their shape in cooking much more than skinless types like red lentils and yellow or green split peas which are more suited to soups and dahls.

**purpleprincess**

So glad I found this thread as I have copious amounts of all of these!!! Can I use red lentils to bulk out bolognaise and chilli??? Would I just chuck some in towards the end of cooking, last 10 minutes or so????

Anne_Marie_2

**purpleprincess** wrote:

So glad I found this thread as I have copious amounts of all of these!!! Can I use red lentils to bulk out bolognaise and chilli??? Would I just chuck some in towards the end of cooking, last 10 minutes or so????

A definite yes, but would err towards last 15 mins or so, just so all cooked nicely - and you might have to add more boiling water if the sauce is thick, or an extra tin of tomatoes. If you think your lot won't eat it, do as I have done - cook seperately, whizz with blender until smooth, then add.
Or.....
You could always add a wee tad of soya mince to bulk out - full of protein too.

Ted_Hutchinson

If you have a pressure cooker you will find this resource very useful
Dry Beans
Cooking Time Chart for Dried Beans