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As of March 31, 2025, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) will remove the Healthy Recipes collection from MedlinePlus. You can still find many of these recipes at Delicious Heart Healthy Eating from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and at Food Hero, a USDA-supported initiative with Oregon State University Extension Service and the Oregon Department of Human Services.

For more on healthy eating, visit the MedlinePlus Nutrition health topic.

URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/recipes/indian-lentils-and-pasta/

Indian Lentils and Pasta

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Number of Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic finely chopped or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes, with juice
  • 1/2 cup dry lentils, rinsed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1/2 cup orzo or tiny pasta
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat (300 °F in an electric skillet). Add onion and garlic and cook 3 to 4 minutes.
  2. Stir in water, diced tomatoes with juice, lentils, cumin, turmeric, and red pepper flakes, if desired.
  3. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low (250 °F in an electric skillet). Simmer for 25 minutes.
  4. Add pasta and cook uncovered until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.
  5. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve warm.
  6. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Notes:

  • Serve topped with light sour cream or plain non-fat yogurt.

Find more delicious recipes from FoodHero.org

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Recipes that make it to Food Hero have had a long journey getting there. Most of the recipes have been used by our nutrition educators in the field and then submitted to the Food Hero team to be considered for the website. Recipes have the criteria found at this link: https://foodhero.org/recipe-criteria.