These crunchy, spicy lentils taste like junk food but they are anything BUT! Lentils are packed with antioxidants, protein, and iron. The perfect satisfying vegan snack to sneak into a movie theater or just have any time. The crunch reminds me of Corn Nuts, a favourite when I was a kid (but I haven’t had them in years; never bothered to find out whether they are vegan-friendly or not). But this recipe was actually inspired by a bean snack that I got in my Vegan Cuts Snack Box a few months ago. It was November’s box (if I remember correctly) and it was a particularly good box full of crisps, macaroons, and chocolate. I hate the months that have lots of protein powders and other supplements. BLEGH. It’s a SNACK BOX NOT A HEALTH BOX! End rant. hehe 😉
Video tutorial for Crunch Spicy Lentils
Oops, did I get off track? Anyway, the product that inspired these crunchy lentils was the Snack Out Loud Crunchy Bean Snack. We got the tomato basil flavour. I went online to see how to buy them but sadly they appear to only be available in the US. I hate it when that happens, but it’s probably a good thing that keeps me from eating too packaged food and from spending money unnecessarily. My boyfriend seemed to really enjoy them though, so I made up my mind to make our own…eventually.
Wash the lentils first!
Drying out the lentils
A viewer suggested that I make some movie-friendly snacks so I thought I’d finally get to doing up this recipe! Here’s another one: Strawberry Chips!
Lentils got crunch!
This was a fairly large batch. Feel free to reduce the amounts, adjust the spices for your palate, and to use whatever type of lentils you like. I stored mine in a mason jar but made sure that the lentils were completely cooled before sealing the jar. This helps ensure that the lentils stay crunchy.
Printable recipe for Crunchy Spicy Lentil Snack
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked moong dal or other lentils (3 cups if using cooked lentils) [355cc]
- water for cooking lentils
- 1 teaspoon madras curry powder (or use any curry powder you like) [5cc]
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder [1cc]
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder [1cc]
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt [1cc]
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder [1cc]
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper [0.5cc]
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes [5cc]
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil (I used unrefined coconut) [15ml]
- In a medium sized pot, rinse and drain the uncooked lentils.
- Fill the pot with water, about 2 inches (5 cm) above the level of the lentils and heat to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and let simmer until the lentils are fully cooked but not mushy. It took 20 minutes for the moong dal. Adjust the cooking time to the type of lentils you are using.
- Drain the lentils very well using a mesh strainer.
- Heat a large frying pan or skillet over high heat.
- When the pan is hot, add your curry powder, stir it around, then add the lentils quickly afterwards.
- Stir while cooking continuously to allow the water in the lentils to evaporate. This will take around 10 minutes.
- When the lentils are fairly dry, they will not clump together as much. Make a well in the center of the lentils and add one tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the red chili flakes to the oil. Some of the volatile oils in the red chili may release at this time so stand back from the stove and turn on your stove top fan if you have one available.
- Stir the lentils into the oil and continue cooking and stiring for about 5 minutes or until the lentils get crisp and crunchy. The lentils will start to release a nutty aroma and you will hear some popping.
- Test the lentils for doneness by taking a small spoonful, letting it cool and tasting it. Adjust the seasonings to your preference.
- Allow the lentils to cool before serving.
- If you want to store the lentils, let them cool completely before storing them in an airtight container at room temperature. If not cooled completely, they may lose their crunchiness.
- These lentils will stay fresh for about a week.
- Enjoy!
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[…] Spicy Crunchy Lentils […]
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Thanks I was looking for it. We Indians have a snack food product by name Haldiram. They have this crunchy lentil. Always loved it. Now I dont need to buy, can make it on my own 🙂
I just made this recipe and oh my goodness it is soo delicious! thank you for sharing, I am going to make this again and again.
Hi. Awesome recipe. I can’t believe there are others who were looking for this type of Lentil snack. And then we created a snack product which is now a retail product for sale. It can be found on our website, which is http://www.rostedsnacks.com – Just in case you don’t have time to cook these up yourself.
P.S. I was thinking about offering my snack product in Vegan Cuts Snack Box. It seems like you weren’t the biggest fan. Are you still a subscriber? Do you think I should do it?
Make sure to use same size lentil! The red cooked faster than the green do I ended up with mush! I’ll try again??
Can you substitute black pepper for white pepper?
Hello! Thank you for posting this. Could they be baked? If so what temp and time?