Red Lentils in NYC

[polyhymnia]

Hi! I really want to try out the recipe for red lentil soup that was in the NYTimes last week, but couldn't find red lentils in my local grocery store (Westside Market). How hard do you think I'll have to look for these? Will a trip to Fairway do it? How about Garden of Eden? Anybody got a source for these in New York? Alternatively, has anyone made the soup? How did it turn out?

[tatyr]

Soup report: we'd had a bag of red lentils sitting around for about four years. I know that's nasty, but I just don't really care for lentils (or didn't), so I never cooked them. I read your post because I was looking for a way to use them up (as it were), then looked up the soup on the NYT, and made it for dinner last night. It was the most delicious thing we'd made in a long time!!! We strictly followed the recipe until the very end--we didn't blend any of it, because it cooks down into mush, and it was about 9:30, and we were very hungry and tired! And we added extra cilantro because we had it, and we love cilantro, and in the dead of winter anything green is nice. But we'll probably make it that way from now on, because we found it perfectly savory, spicy, and appetizing. Now I have to stop being such a baby about lentils. We'll probably cook up the rest of the lentils (enough for 2 more batches) this weekend.

[foxy fairy]

Once you get them, you can use red lentils for lots of other stuff too. I like a cold lentil salad with chopped vegetables and vinaigrette (like tabouli, but with lentils rather than bulgur). Check out Ana Sortun's red lentil koftes from her cookbook Spice -- delicious, basically little red-lentil patties served with a pomegranate salsa.

[bladerobbins]

I've made the soup twice now, and it's really delicious. The first time I made it I somehow forgot entirely to add any water. The result was a very thick lentil stew, incredibly flavorful because it was so much more concentrated. The second time I used the full amount of water and found it a little too watery. I ended up straining it a little and still found it pretty great. The next time I think I'll try to hit a happy medium...

[Nuray]

Whole Foods has the Arrowhead Mills brand and also their house kind.

[Miss Needle]

You can get it at Kalustayan's. It will probably be labeled "masoor dal."

[howboy]

That's where I buy them

[rubymydear]

I thought I saw some red lentils in Westside market (7th Ave?). They were in the pasta aisle. I think they were that blue Arrowhead Mills brand.

[polyhymnia]

it's on broadway.... That's where I checked, but didn't see any, but now that i have a specific brand to look for I may find them more easily. Thanks!

[MikeG]

The also surely have the Goya red lentils - they have lots of Goya stuff unless they jettisoned it very recently.

[rubymydear]

Ah, I see. I was at the Chelsea location of the Westside market. Maybe that's why.

[ariellasdaddy]

Good Housekeeping also had a recipe for a red lentil soup.

[LNG212]

I just bought red lentils for EXACTLY the same reason. :) That recipe sounds so good.

I got them at the upstairs organic department of Fairway on 74th Street in the loose/bulk section. They are "organic red lentils" at $1.59 per pound (of course, in the bulk section you just get however much you want).

When you make the soup, please report back!

[polyhymnia]

I have never actually been upstairs there... I was looking for a place nearby for bulk grains and that sounds perfect!!! Grocery shopping on thursday it looks like! I will definitely post back about the soup, though probably not until next week!

[LNG212]

I think Fairway has a pretty good bulk selection. It's kind of hidden up there -- up a ramp/stairs that is located behind the power bars area. They have all sorts of grains, granolas, legumes, nuts, dried fruits and also things like candied ginger. And it's also not usually as crazy-crowded up there as it is downstairs.

[TongoRad]

If you have easy access to a shop with a large selection of Goya products you should be able to find them there. Also- in Indian markets you will see them sold as Masoor Dal.

[bxgirl]

I have seen red lentils at Fairway, Chelsea Market fruit exchange (actually saw them there just this morning) and I would bet you could find them at Trader Joe's, Sahadi's and probably Garden of Eden. They are usually packaged in plastic containers (like cole slaw comes in).
I did make the soup, and followed the recipe exactly(except that I doubled it) and it is WONDERFUL(and easy)!!!
Good luck on your search, and enjoy the soup.

[josheubank]

Hello:

You can find red lentils at Buona Italia in Chelsea Market. They are marked as "Red Turkish Lentils" and only cost a couple of bucks.

Cheers,

Joshua