I noted that in your very informative posts on lentils and beans, you haven’t mentioned sprouting them and consuming the sprouted material in many different ways. Some raw also, but often cooked or sautéed, salted and spiced according to your taste. This is very common in Indian food scene. Home kitchens sprout them and have them as often as possible. Street food vendors are also not uncommon. Not common in restaurant menu, though.
Our climate, almost through the year, is ideal for room temp sprouting. Around 30 C plus minus most of the time. Even in Bangalore here, because of elevation, inside temperatures are between 22 and 28 C and sprouting occurs very easily. The procedure is simple. Soak the dry lentils/beans, with the skin, in water for 7-8 hrs/overnight, drain the water, tie them in a wet muslin cloth and leave them closed with a colander. You can also leave the soaked beans in a hot pack container. Keep them moist. Germination begins in 24 hrs and we normally leave it for three days. You can use them immediately or store in fridge for a few days for use whenever you want.
This is evening now and I just had a small bowlful of green moong beans sprouted, sautéed in a spoon of oil, salt and red chilli powder added for mild taste. A good, healthy evening snack.
Green moong beans is among the best for this preparation. We normally sprout red lentils, chick peas, brown chick peas ( brown chana as we call it). The last one, sprouted, is a nutritional powerhouse, as they say. You can use any beans or lentils with the skin and dry ones. I am not able to get the English names of many. Freshly sprouted, moist green moong beans can be a good ingredient in any fresh vegetable salad. In terms of nutrition, the fresh sprouts carry their own weight.
The key is the temperature, in the neighbourhood of about 28 C for facile sprouting - both soaking and the germination period. Inside homes, there also, I hope microwave or normal ovens, will carry this temperature, just as an enclosure. So, getting the sprouting should not be a problem.
Wonderful stuff, Moro - thank you. You’re building a real food ethnography in these comments, and I’m loving it.
Sprouting lentils and beans is something I’ve only dabbled in. I actually did a round of lentils and chickpeas earlier this year, mostly out of curiosity. I ate the results raw in a vegetable salad, but not before planting a few of the chickpeas in the garden to see what the plants were like - I even got a small crop of chickpeas!
You’re absolutely right that sprouting is a brilliant tradition that predates nutritional science but lines up beautifully with it: reducing antinutrients like phytic acid, slightly increasing folate and other micronutrients, and making legumes more digestible overall. There’s some suggestion it slightly increases resistant starch too, though that’s probably a minor benefit in the grand scheme.
Over here, people do eat a fair bit of sprouted mung beans - but only as supermarket ‘bean sprouts.’ Most probably have no idea they’re just mung beans coaxed into adolescence.
I think you’re right that in most Western kitchens, sprouting still feels like a bit of a project - something for the raw food crowd or the particularly virtuous. But maybe we’ve been missing a trick. I suspect our readers would enjoy a small bowl of sautéed, spiced moong sprouts more than they realise.
As for fenugreek, now that’s a new one for me. I’ve only ever used it as a spice or seed. You might just have planted a seed yourself - metaphorically and literally.
Forgot to mention. Fenugreek seeds also can be sprouted as described for other beans. It is said to have lot of health value. Normally eaten in only small quantities, especially in admixture with other sprouted lentils/beans.
Ben, this is a fantastic and brilliantly articulated breakdown of a topic that is often butchered by wellness blogs. As a fellow biochemist, I especially appreciate the clear distinction between the minor metabolic win from retrogradation and the major win from whole-food sources like legumes.
The point about SCFAs (especially butyrate) is the critical takeaway here. So many people chase the "fridge hack" without realizing the real magic is in consistently feeding the microbiome the prebiotic fiber it needs to produce those powerhouse signaling molecules.
Your chart visualizing the Glycemic Index vs. Resistant Starch content is superb...a perfect tool for illustrating that the food matrix is everything. Excellent work.
Thank you, Tom. I very much appreciate those generous comments.
“Eat more beans and lentils” doesn’t have the same ‘magic trick’ appeal as putting your cooked potatoes in the fridge overnight and they turn into a ‘superfood.’ It’s no wonder wellness blogs lean towards the latter!
The microbiome never ceases to amaze me. It still feels almost as mysterious and unknown as the ocean floor. I suspect huge advances will come as we understand it better.
Okay I’m going to try lentils. I think I had a bad experience with them many years ago. They were bland, probably overcooked and certainly unappealing. Going to try again. By the way, what comprises a good Muesli?
Puy lentils hold their shape, while red and green lentils go very soft.
Do let me know how you get on!
What makes a good muesli? Hmm, I’d say lots of nuts and fruit - a variety of each. I buy the unsweetened ‘Swiss’ style which is uncooked. Granola tends to be loaded with sugar and it’s roasted, so it contains a good amount of toxic chemicals produced by the high temperatures.
I’m sure homemade muesli would be better, but I’ve not tried that yet. It’s on my to-do list, though!
Don’t get put off by overcooked soft lentils. They are the best bases for creating soups, you can be creative how you make them. If you like garlic, cut a few fine, sauté them in a bit of butter, add them into the soft, cooked, mashed lentils, add salt and a few cilantro leaves finely cut and enjoy. For slight heat, crushed pepper corn or chilli flakes or finely cut fresh green chillies. The last one needs to be sautéed along with garlic. If you are an Indiaphile, make rasam out of the overcooked lentil. First beat them with some warm water into a fine suspension. In a wok, lightly brown a half a spoon of cumin seeds in a spoon of hot refined oil. Add one medium red tomato chopped into medium pieces and sauté them. As it gets softened, add a pinch of turmeric powder, one and half tea spoons of rasam powder, half tsp of coriander powder and if you have , a pinch of asafoetida. These quantities are for a large bowl of the cooked lentil suspension. Transfer the suspension into the wok, mix well, add salt to taste and bring the whole thing to a boil. Add finely chopped cilantro leaves for garnish and some crushed pepper too for flavour. Have this as a soup, with two-three spoons of cooked rice for a normal bowlful. You can have more rice also, as a rice rich dish. As for Rasam powder, it is available as branded packets in all Indian groceries. If you can’t find it, replace it with an additional tea spoon of coriander powder and half tsp of red chilli powder.
As Dr. Jones explains, lentils are the best natural source of resistant starch. Have them frequently. With lot of proteins and small amounts of fats, they are nutritional powerhouses.
Thank you for such great encouragement. Theres an Indian grocery store next to our vitamin shop that I’ll visit for a couple of spices I don’t have. Is the asafoetida essential?
Vicki, this is the kind of comment thread I live for. You say "maybe I'll give lentils another go," and within hours you've got a full Rasam tutorial from a gentleman in Bangalore.
Asafoetida adds a distinctive, savoury depth (like garlic or leeks might), but if you don’t have it, I'm sure the dish will still be excellent (do you agree, Moro?). And yes, Indian grocery stores usually stock it - though do check the label, as some brands mix it with wheat flour (a note for gluten-free readers).
Moro - you’re rapidly becoming the honorary head of international legume diplomacy here. I might need to start paying you in chickpeas.
There is another facet to this lentils story, hiding in plain sight before us.
Most of the bagged ready to eat snacks in the West are based on potato, and to some extent on maize or all purpose flour based. Think of the Lays products. They are big here too in India. But the dominant ones here, dozens of them, are the traditional ones and based on lentils and beans, as whole or their flour based. Gram flour ( yellow lentils) is the popular base, but others too are present - dry peas, chick peas, moth beans, white lentils, moong beans….. when you are in a large Indian grocery next time, check out the products and their ingredients. Replace a bag of potato chips( crisps) next time with one of these for light snacking. They come in different forms, shapes and blends. But they are all lentils rich. Yes, they are fried, but it should not matter for an on and off craving. And since you mentioned raw bananas being rich in resistant starches, look for the yellow banana chips from India. Should be commonly seen in Indian stores. The yellow colour is from turmeric. So, some way of getting lentils into our gut plans.
You’re absolutely right: Indian snack culture is leagues ahead when it comes to legumes. While our supermarkets are stacked with potato crisps and corn-based snacks, yours are filled with lentil-based options, many of them centuries old. I’ve seen the rows of namkeen mixes, fried dhals, banana chips, and chickpea flour treats in stores on my visits to India, but I’d never really thought about them through the lens of resistant starch and lentil diversity.
Of course, as you say, they’re fried, so we’re not talking health food in the strict sense, but for occasional cravings, swapping a bag of potato crisps for something made from chickpeas, moong dal, or gram flour probably ticks a few more boxes nutritionally. And turmeric-tinted banana chips? Now that’s an antioxidant upgrade.
I’ll take your advice and look more closely next time I’m in the international aisle. It’s a shame we’ve largely lost that savoury pulse-based snack culture in the West. Here, if it’s not shaped like a Wotsit or dusted in BBQ flavouring, it doesn’t stand a chance.
Thanks. Dr….. Asafoetida, as you might have known, is a naturally secreted plant resin. For easy use, it is sold a powder in admixture with wheat flour. Otherwise it is a hard lump. It adds subtle flavour and is said aid in digestion, controlling flatulence. For us, a small pinch bowlful of any lentil preparation, is a daily must. You can directly add in the hot dish, but we usually add in the hot oil where we splutter mustard seeds or brown cumin seeds as the tempering. It is also added, small pinches again, in any wet or dry preparations involving tubers - like potato, yam, sweet potato, cassava etc.
Just for rounding off the story, the everyday Indian spice essentials are red chilli powder, coriander seed powder, cumin seed powder, turmeric powder and asafoetida. For all dishes, vegetables, lentils, meat, fish…..Fresh green chillies are also common. The basic green herbs for flavour, embellishment are cilantro leaves and curry leaves. I suppose you can warm up any dish of yours of any cuisine type with a pinch of some of these. You must settle it with trial and experience.
Great information and so timely. I rarely eat potatoes, but one grew in my garden and I got 3 huge ones to bake. So I did. And I will eat them cold. Thanks!!
Potatoes are very flavourful on their own. Hot with raw butter or an avocado... cold ones I eat like an apple out of hand. Raw is good with lemon pepper and garlic ;) and mixing lentils in with bacon/potato salad is a filling meal.
Roasted sweet potatoes with beluga lentils and green onions, sprinkled with maple syrup /soy sauce combo is a treat.
Except Ice creams and cakes, only cold food eating is not a pleasure in cold climates like yours. Even chips ( fries) gone cold are not that taste friendly. One option, as in the case of cooked, cold potatoes, is to cover them with other hot foods, like steamed or sautéed vegetables or meat and have them. I hope those few minutes of contact with heat will not reverse the resistant starch formed in the cold potato.
I still enjoy bangers and mash, or fish and chips, I just don’t cook with potatoes much at home. When I was a kid, every meal had potatoes. The only question was how would they be cooked!
As usual, packed with easy information and even easier advice. People must take them seriously. Two points.
First, population level observations and studies to unequivocally establish the benefits of beans, lentils and legumes, that is resistant starch, even though their proteins, reasonably high levels, have also a big say in they being health foods. Do their proteins and resistant starches compliment each other ? Now, you very well know that India is the largest lentil eating country in the world. It is still the norm, carried forward since ages, despite some inroads from modern unhealthy processed foods. On the hand, we have a modern western food scene where lentils and beans consumption is very low. Would not a serious comparison of these two populations on the various markers of resistant starch consumption, particularly incidence of these diseases, tell you about the value of these ? The problem that India projects immediately is that the absolute number of cases at any given time will be high, for example, we have the highest number of diabetic cases in the world. But as per capita, the huge population number gives a more balanced picture. For example, in terms of stand alone numbers - cases, hospitalisations and deaths in Covid - it was right there, number 2 or 3. But once you look at the data as per unit population, its rank goes way down.
Second point is historical and anecdotal. From times unknown here, rice cooked the previous day, is a prized food. Regrettably largely forgotten by the urban population now, the practice is still strong in villages. Usually, it is left to soak in water overnight and our ambience is ideal for natural fermentation. The water is drunk with butter milk as a health drink next morning, slightly salted and spiced with green chillies. The rice itself is a lunch dish, as curd rice, mixed with curd, salt and embellished with a tempering of mustard seeds, white lentils, green chillies and fresh curry leaves. With a small amount of our oil rich pickles, the dish is well balanced with desirable carbs, proteins and fat. In olden days, extra rice may be cooked for this purpose on a daily basis. Even now, it is the first resort of use for any left over rice in most poor and middle class households.
The left over rice story I gave only as a matter of information. This is mainly a climate driven practice. Also we grow lot of rice and eat lot of it. It is not a practice that will suit colder climates. But I think just overnight keeping at 24-25 C, your normal home ambients, should not spoil the cooked rice. Without reheating the rice, if you pour some hot gravy for comfortable eating, will the presence of resistant starch get reverted ? This applies to cold potato also.
On population level comparisons, we have dozens of variables at play like the ones you said. But then we believe that lentils can make a substantial health impact and so the comparison can still be supportive of the recommendations about consuming lentils. Their proteins are a different class compared to animal proteins. They provide a valuable variety.
I loved that glimpse into a food tradition that’s climate-specific, rice-rich, and clearly still thriving in parts of India. What struck me most is how naturally it combines so many modern health principles, from the fermentation of soaked rice (which likely adds microbial diversity) to the gentle preservation of resistant starch by eating it cold the next day.
It’s fascinating to contrast that with how we treat leftover rice in the UK or US. Here, people are often warned not to leave cooked rice out, even briefly, for fear of Bacillus cereus. The concern is about rice left dry, at room temperature, which creates the perfect conditions for the bacteria to multiply and produce a heat-stable toxin. But your method, soaking rice overnight, probably reduces that risk. It’s less about temperature alone, and more about creating an acidic, low-oxygen environment that makes the rice less hospitable to pathogens.
And to your question: no, pouring hot gravy over cold rice or potatoes won’t undo the resistant starch. Once it’s formed (what we call RS3), it’s heat-stable so long as you don’t recook the food to the point of fully gelatinising the starch again.
And just for Western readers: that “gravy” isn’t the thick brown sauce we call gravy it’s the rich, spiced, curry-like liquid that’s such a staple in Indian meals.
Thanks, Moro. So much richness in this comment, as always.
On your first point, suggesting we compare the outcomes of Indian populations who still eat traditional, lentil-rich diets with those consuming more Westernised, ultra-processed fare - a natural experiment, in a way. And yes, that does sidestep the genetic confounding you’d get comparing different countries. The trouble is, of course, that you're also then dealing with everything else that differs between urban and rural India: income, access to care, levels of physical activity, stress, oil use, refrigeration, and so on. It's hard to cleanly extract the role of lentils, though I agree they're far, far healthier than the awful ultra-processed food we've exported to you.
For the record, I eat loads of them - lentils, that is, not ultra-processed foods!
As for your second point, I love that you’ve kept this food tradition alive. Cold, overnight-soaked rice with curd, buttermilk, or pickles - it's a brilliant example of how traditional practices often stumble into mechanisms we now explain through modern gut science: cooling starch to increase RS3, mild fermentation to add microbial diversity, combining with fats and proteins to modulate glycaemic response.
Interestingly, here in the UK (and I believe also in the US), people are often very nervous about leftover rice. Public health advice has long warned of the bacteria Bacillus cereus, which can multiply in rice left at room temperature and produce a toxin that survives reheating. It’s one of the classic causes of what people used to call “Chinese restaurant syndrome.” So cold rice, left out overnight and eaten the next day - despite its healthy properties - also triggers cultural food safety reflexes in the West.
Lots of good information, thank you. Could you elaborate a little on this statement “Blending half a greenish banana into a smoothie (Just not with berries - their antioxidants don’t play well with bananas’ enzymes)”. I eat a muesli type mix for breakfast a lot. But I usually add banana, blueberries and strawberries.
Polyphenols - natural plant compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties - may be one of the main drivers behind the health benefits of fruit, right alongside fibre.
Because smoothies often include the skin and seeds of fruit, they tend to retain these valuable compounds. And in some cases, there’s evidence that polyphenols are more readily absorbed from a smoothie than from whole fruit.
But, and it’s a big but, if you, like me, enjoy throwing a banana into your smoothie to make it thick and sweet, you might be undoing a lot of that good.
Bananas contain an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, which rapidly breaks down polyphenols. (Mick Skolnick wrote about this in some detail on his Substack https://drmick.substack.com/).
Just 10 minutes after blending, you’ve already lost half your polyphenols. After 30 minutes, you’re down to about 10% of what you started with. So don’t hang around - drink your smoothie straight away. No saving half for later. Drink first. Wash the blender later!
Even more surprising, the effect isn’t limited to blending. Just eating a banana at the same time as a polyphenol-rich smoothie reduces how much of those compounds get into your bloodstream, so that’s likely happening when you eat banana and berries together with your muesli
It’s best then to keep bananas at a distance - time-wise - from your berries, grapes, cherries or citrus. Beet greens, apples and pears have a similar effect, though it’s much milder.
Years ago, I used to visit friends in Mauritius. They were horrified if I ate a banana in the evening as they believed it led to nightmares - the same way we think of cheese over here.
I can’t find anything on those either, Ellen. I suspect they’ve not really been investigated as they’re not as commonly eaten as the usual vegetable fare.
I eat a lot of all varieties of beans, but due to time constraints, I get them from a can (organic, no salt added). I open a can, portion it out, and freeze the portions. I wonder how these fall into the starch comparison? My hope is that since they are heated during canning, then cooled in the freezer, maybe the starch is at least preserved, even if not increased. But it’s anyone’s guess.
The starch in beans is resistant because it’s inside the cells, not because it’s been cooked and cooled, so nutritionally, I’d expect canned to be as good as dried.
I used to always used canned beans, too, but after I started using dried, I found they just taste better. They do take a bit of preparation, like overnight soaking and boiling for up to an hour, but you can do a big batch and freeze them in portions.
Slow cookers are fine. If you use a pressure cooker, you need to give a 15-20 minute sim setting on minimum flame after 4-5 whistles. Make sure you have enough water. Chickpeas get cooked soft easily. Red beans ( popular both in North India and South America) are tough. They need lot of soaking and extended in slow cooking. I understand that in old school restaurants in North India, both these are slow cooked in pots overnight on wood fire.
You’re becoming a fountain of leguminous wisdom, Moro. I’m learning loads!
Are the red beans you’re talking about the ones used in rajma? A Punjabi friend once told me it was his favourite comfort food, and I’ve always meant to try making it properly. Sounds like slow cooking is the key.
Appreciate the tips on pressure cooking too, especially the post-whistle simmering. It’s easy to forget how much variation there is in bean texture depending on method (and water, and altitude, and the bean’s mood that day...).
Yes, I was referring to Rajma only. There are quite a few varieties of it, including smaller, paler and patterned ones. You can check with your friend about the Jammu Rajma. It is a rare item in South Indian home pantries. Only those of us exposed to far flung places make it.
I noted that in your very informative posts on lentils and beans, you haven’t mentioned sprouting them and consuming the sprouted material in many different ways. Some raw also, but often cooked or sautéed, salted and spiced according to your taste. This is very common in Indian food scene. Home kitchens sprout them and have them as often as possible. Street food vendors are also not uncommon. Not common in restaurant menu, though.
Our climate, almost through the year, is ideal for room temp sprouting. Around 30 C plus minus most of the time. Even in Bangalore here, because of elevation, inside temperatures are between 22 and 28 C and sprouting occurs very easily. The procedure is simple. Soak the dry lentils/beans, with the skin, in water for 7-8 hrs/overnight, drain the water, tie them in a wet muslin cloth and leave them closed with a colander. You can also leave the soaked beans in a hot pack container. Keep them moist. Germination begins in 24 hrs and we normally leave it for three days. You can use them immediately or store in fridge for a few days for use whenever you want.
This is evening now and I just had a small bowlful of green moong beans sprouted, sautéed in a spoon of oil, salt and red chilli powder added for mild taste. A good, healthy evening snack.
Green moong beans is among the best for this preparation. We normally sprout red lentils, chick peas, brown chick peas ( brown chana as we call it). The last one, sprouted, is a nutritional powerhouse, as they say. You can use any beans or lentils with the skin and dry ones. I am not able to get the English names of many. Freshly sprouted, moist green moong beans can be a good ingredient in any fresh vegetable salad. In terms of nutrition, the fresh sprouts carry their own weight.
The key is the temperature, in the neighbourhood of about 28 C for facile sprouting - both soaking and the germination period. Inside homes, there also, I hope microwave or normal ovens, will carry this temperature, just as an enclosure. So, getting the sprouting should not be a problem.
Wonderful stuff, Moro - thank you. You’re building a real food ethnography in these comments, and I’m loving it.
Sprouting lentils and beans is something I’ve only dabbled in. I actually did a round of lentils and chickpeas earlier this year, mostly out of curiosity. I ate the results raw in a vegetable salad, but not before planting a few of the chickpeas in the garden to see what the plants were like - I even got a small crop of chickpeas!
You’re absolutely right that sprouting is a brilliant tradition that predates nutritional science but lines up beautifully with it: reducing antinutrients like phytic acid, slightly increasing folate and other micronutrients, and making legumes more digestible overall. There’s some suggestion it slightly increases resistant starch too, though that’s probably a minor benefit in the grand scheme.
Over here, people do eat a fair bit of sprouted mung beans - but only as supermarket ‘bean sprouts.’ Most probably have no idea they’re just mung beans coaxed into adolescence.
I think you’re right that in most Western kitchens, sprouting still feels like a bit of a project - something for the raw food crowd or the particularly virtuous. But maybe we’ve been missing a trick. I suspect our readers would enjoy a small bowl of sautéed, spiced moong sprouts more than they realise.
As for fenugreek, now that’s a new one for me. I’ve only ever used it as a spice or seed. You might just have planted a seed yourself - metaphorically and literally.
Forgot to mention. Fenugreek seeds also can be sprouted as described for other beans. It is said to have lot of health value. Normally eaten in only small quantities, especially in admixture with other sprouted lentils/beans.
Ben, this is a fantastic and brilliantly articulated breakdown of a topic that is often butchered by wellness blogs. As a fellow biochemist, I especially appreciate the clear distinction between the minor metabolic win from retrogradation and the major win from whole-food sources like legumes.
The point about SCFAs (especially butyrate) is the critical takeaway here. So many people chase the "fridge hack" without realizing the real magic is in consistently feeding the microbiome the prebiotic fiber it needs to produce those powerhouse signaling molecules.
Your chart visualizing the Glycemic Index vs. Resistant Starch content is superb...a perfect tool for illustrating that the food matrix is everything. Excellent work.
Thank you, Tom. I very much appreciate those generous comments.
“Eat more beans and lentils” doesn’t have the same ‘magic trick’ appeal as putting your cooked potatoes in the fridge overnight and they turn into a ‘superfood.’ It’s no wonder wellness blogs lean towards the latter!
The microbiome never ceases to amaze me. It still feels almost as mysterious and unknown as the ocean floor. I suspect huge advances will come as we understand it better.
Ah! Marine environment, my wheelhouse. Yes, and it's not just the ocean floor but the pelagic zone.
It's crazy that we know more about the moon than our own oceans.
What are you doing writing on here, KB? Get back in your boat; there's so much work to be done 😉
Aye Aye Captain
Okay I’m going to try lentils. I think I had a bad experience with them many years ago. They were bland, probably overcooked and certainly unappealing. Going to try again. By the way, what comprises a good Muesli?
I can imagine that might put you off!
This recipe is really good if you like Indian food - https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lemon_pepper_tarka_dal_94049
If you don’t cook Indian food, there might be lots of ingredients you don’t have at home. It’s worth the effort though.
For a French flavour, try Puy lentils with bacon - https://www.healthyseasonalrecipes.com/lentils-with-bacon/
Puy lentils hold their shape, while red and green lentils go very soft.
Do let me know how you get on!
What makes a good muesli? Hmm, I’d say lots of nuts and fruit - a variety of each. I buy the unsweetened ‘Swiss’ style which is uncooked. Granola tends to be loaded with sugar and it’s roasted, so it contains a good amount of toxic chemicals produced by the high temperatures.
I’m sure homemade muesli would be better, but I’ve not tried that yet. It’s on my to-do list, though!
Don’t get put off by overcooked soft lentils. They are the best bases for creating soups, you can be creative how you make them. If you like garlic, cut a few fine, sauté them in a bit of butter, add them into the soft, cooked, mashed lentils, add salt and a few cilantro leaves finely cut and enjoy. For slight heat, crushed pepper corn or chilli flakes or finely cut fresh green chillies. The last one needs to be sautéed along with garlic. If you are an Indiaphile, make rasam out of the overcooked lentil. First beat them with some warm water into a fine suspension. In a wok, lightly brown a half a spoon of cumin seeds in a spoon of hot refined oil. Add one medium red tomato chopped into medium pieces and sauté them. As it gets softened, add a pinch of turmeric powder, one and half tea spoons of rasam powder, half tsp of coriander powder and if you have , a pinch of asafoetida. These quantities are for a large bowl of the cooked lentil suspension. Transfer the suspension into the wok, mix well, add salt to taste and bring the whole thing to a boil. Add finely chopped cilantro leaves for garnish and some crushed pepper too for flavour. Have this as a soup, with two-three spoons of cooked rice for a normal bowlful. You can have more rice also, as a rice rich dish. As for Rasam powder, it is available as branded packets in all Indian groceries. If you can’t find it, replace it with an additional tea spoon of coriander powder and half tsp of red chilli powder.
As Dr. Jones explains, lentils are the best natural source of resistant starch. Have them frequently. With lot of proteins and small amounts of fats, they are nutritional powerhouses.
Thank you for such great encouragement. Theres an Indian grocery store next to our vitamin shop that I’ll visit for a couple of spices I don’t have. Is the asafoetida essential?
Vicki, this is the kind of comment thread I live for. You say "maybe I'll give lentils another go," and within hours you've got a full Rasam tutorial from a gentleman in Bangalore.
Asafoetida adds a distinctive, savoury depth (like garlic or leeks might), but if you don’t have it, I'm sure the dish will still be excellent (do you agree, Moro?). And yes, Indian grocery stores usually stock it - though do check the label, as some brands mix it with wheat flour (a note for gluten-free readers).
Moro - you’re rapidly becoming the honorary head of international legume diplomacy here. I might need to start paying you in chickpeas.
There is another facet to this lentils story, hiding in plain sight before us.
Most of the bagged ready to eat snacks in the West are based on potato, and to some extent on maize or all purpose flour based. Think of the Lays products. They are big here too in India. But the dominant ones here, dozens of them, are the traditional ones and based on lentils and beans, as whole or their flour based. Gram flour ( yellow lentils) is the popular base, but others too are present - dry peas, chick peas, moth beans, white lentils, moong beans….. when you are in a large Indian grocery next time, check out the products and their ingredients. Replace a bag of potato chips( crisps) next time with one of these for light snacking. They come in different forms, shapes and blends. But they are all lentils rich. Yes, they are fried, but it should not matter for an on and off craving. And since you mentioned raw bananas being rich in resistant starches, look for the yellow banana chips from India. Should be commonly seen in Indian stores. The yellow colour is from turmeric. So, some way of getting lentils into our gut plans.
Thanks, Moro. This is a great angle.
You’re absolutely right: Indian snack culture is leagues ahead when it comes to legumes. While our supermarkets are stacked with potato crisps and corn-based snacks, yours are filled with lentil-based options, many of them centuries old. I’ve seen the rows of namkeen mixes, fried dhals, banana chips, and chickpea flour treats in stores on my visits to India, but I’d never really thought about them through the lens of resistant starch and lentil diversity.
Of course, as you say, they’re fried, so we’re not talking health food in the strict sense, but for occasional cravings, swapping a bag of potato crisps for something made from chickpeas, moong dal, or gram flour probably ticks a few more boxes nutritionally. And turmeric-tinted banana chips? Now that’s an antioxidant upgrade.
I’ll take your advice and look more closely next time I’m in the international aisle. It’s a shame we’ve largely lost that savoury pulse-based snack culture in the West. Here, if it’s not shaped like a Wotsit or dusted in BBQ flavouring, it doesn’t stand a chance.
Thanks. Dr….. Asafoetida, as you might have known, is a naturally secreted plant resin. For easy use, it is sold a powder in admixture with wheat flour. Otherwise it is a hard lump. It adds subtle flavour and is said aid in digestion, controlling flatulence. For us, a small pinch bowlful of any lentil preparation, is a daily must. You can directly add in the hot dish, but we usually add in the hot oil where we splutter mustard seeds or brown cumin seeds as the tempering. It is also added, small pinches again, in any wet or dry preparations involving tubers - like potato, yam, sweet potato, cassava etc.
Just for rounding off the story, the everyday Indian spice essentials are red chilli powder, coriander seed powder, cumin seed powder, turmeric powder and asafoetida. For all dishes, vegetables, lentils, meat, fish…..Fresh green chillies are also common. The basic green herbs for flavour, embellishment are cilantro leaves and curry leaves. I suppose you can warm up any dish of yours of any cuisine type with a pinch of some of these. You must settle it with trial and experience.
Great information and so timely. I rarely eat potatoes, but one grew in my garden and I got 3 huge ones to bake. So I did. And I will eat them cold. Thanks!!
You’re a brave soul, Julie. Tell me how you’re going to make a cold baked potato appealing!
Potatoes are very flavourful on their own. Hot with raw butter or an avocado... cold ones I eat like an apple out of hand. Raw is good with lemon pepper and garlic ;) and mixing lentils in with bacon/potato salad is a filling meal.
Roasted sweet potatoes with beluga lentils and green onions, sprinkled with maple syrup /soy sauce combo is a treat.
Lentils and bacon always go well together. I’d never thought of adding potato. Thanks for that tip!
As for sweet potatoes with beluga lentils, and that maple syrup/soy sauce combo - now you have me really curious to try that out!
Well, I dump beans on it. And a little home-made ranch dressing. Salt and pepper. But then, I am not a picky eater and having a potato is a big treat.
Hmm, that doesn’t sound so bad!
Except Ice creams and cakes, only cold food eating is not a pleasure in cold climates like yours. Even chips ( fries) gone cold are not that taste friendly. One option, as in the case of cooked, cold potatoes, is to cover them with other hot foods, like steamed or sautéed vegetables or meat and have them. I hope those few minutes of contact with heat will not reverse the resistant starch formed in the cold potato.
Ben,great post and information. I was surprised that a Brit didn’t like potatoes. No “bangers and mash” for you?
I know. It is a bit surprising!
I still enjoy bangers and mash, or fish and chips, I just don’t cook with potatoes much at home. When I was a kid, every meal had potatoes. The only question was how would they be cooked!
Here is an outstanding lentil and chickpea bread recipe. I make this twice per month. https://nutritionrefined.com/protein-bread/
Wow - you opened up a whole new world for me!
I'll need to pick up some chickpea flour and psyllium husk, then I'm keen to give it a go.
Thank you!
As usual, packed with easy information and even easier advice. People must take them seriously. Two points.
First, population level observations and studies to unequivocally establish the benefits of beans, lentils and legumes, that is resistant starch, even though their proteins, reasonably high levels, have also a big say in they being health foods. Do their proteins and resistant starches compliment each other ? Now, you very well know that India is the largest lentil eating country in the world. It is still the norm, carried forward since ages, despite some inroads from modern unhealthy processed foods. On the hand, we have a modern western food scene where lentils and beans consumption is very low. Would not a serious comparison of these two populations on the various markers of resistant starch consumption, particularly incidence of these diseases, tell you about the value of these ? The problem that India projects immediately is that the absolute number of cases at any given time will be high, for example, we have the highest number of diabetic cases in the world. But as per capita, the huge population number gives a more balanced picture. For example, in terms of stand alone numbers - cases, hospitalisations and deaths in Covid - it was right there, number 2 or 3. But once you look at the data as per unit population, its rank goes way down.
Second point is historical and anecdotal. From times unknown here, rice cooked the previous day, is a prized food. Regrettably largely forgotten by the urban population now, the practice is still strong in villages. Usually, it is left to soak in water overnight and our ambience is ideal for natural fermentation. The water is drunk with butter milk as a health drink next morning, slightly salted and spiced with green chillies. The rice itself is a lunch dish, as curd rice, mixed with curd, salt and embellished with a tempering of mustard seeds, white lentils, green chillies and fresh curry leaves. With a small amount of our oil rich pickles, the dish is well balanced with desirable carbs, proteins and fat. In olden days, extra rice may be cooked for this purpose on a daily basis. Even now, it is the first resort of use for any left over rice in most poor and middle class households.
The left over rice story I gave only as a matter of information. This is mainly a climate driven practice. Also we grow lot of rice and eat lot of it. It is not a practice that will suit colder climates. But I think just overnight keeping at 24-25 C, your normal home ambients, should not spoil the cooked rice. Without reheating the rice, if you pour some hot gravy for comfortable eating, will the presence of resistant starch get reverted ? This applies to cold potato also.
On population level comparisons, we have dozens of variables at play like the ones you said. But then we believe that lentils can make a substantial health impact and so the comparison can still be supportive of the recommendations about consuming lentils. Their proteins are a different class compared to animal proteins. They provide a valuable variety.
Thanks for the follow-up, Moro.
I loved that glimpse into a food tradition that’s climate-specific, rice-rich, and clearly still thriving in parts of India. What struck me most is how naturally it combines so many modern health principles, from the fermentation of soaked rice (which likely adds microbial diversity) to the gentle preservation of resistant starch by eating it cold the next day.
It’s fascinating to contrast that with how we treat leftover rice in the UK or US. Here, people are often warned not to leave cooked rice out, even briefly, for fear of Bacillus cereus. The concern is about rice left dry, at room temperature, which creates the perfect conditions for the bacteria to multiply and produce a heat-stable toxin. But your method, soaking rice overnight, probably reduces that risk. It’s less about temperature alone, and more about creating an acidic, low-oxygen environment that makes the rice less hospitable to pathogens.
And to your question: no, pouring hot gravy over cold rice or potatoes won’t undo the resistant starch. Once it’s formed (what we call RS3), it’s heat-stable so long as you don’t recook the food to the point of fully gelatinising the starch again.
And just for Western readers: that “gravy” isn’t the thick brown sauce we call gravy it’s the rich, spiced, curry-like liquid that’s such a staple in Indian meals.
Thanks, Moro. So much richness in this comment, as always.
On your first point, suggesting we compare the outcomes of Indian populations who still eat traditional, lentil-rich diets with those consuming more Westernised, ultra-processed fare - a natural experiment, in a way. And yes, that does sidestep the genetic confounding you’d get comparing different countries. The trouble is, of course, that you're also then dealing with everything else that differs between urban and rural India: income, access to care, levels of physical activity, stress, oil use, refrigeration, and so on. It's hard to cleanly extract the role of lentils, though I agree they're far, far healthier than the awful ultra-processed food we've exported to you.
For the record, I eat loads of them - lentils, that is, not ultra-processed foods!
As for your second point, I love that you’ve kept this food tradition alive. Cold, overnight-soaked rice with curd, buttermilk, or pickles - it's a brilliant example of how traditional practices often stumble into mechanisms we now explain through modern gut science: cooling starch to increase RS3, mild fermentation to add microbial diversity, combining with fats and proteins to modulate glycaemic response.
Interestingly, here in the UK (and I believe also in the US), people are often very nervous about leftover rice. Public health advice has long warned of the bacteria Bacillus cereus, which can multiply in rice left at room temperature and produce a toxin that survives reheating. It’s one of the classic causes of what people used to call “Chinese restaurant syndrome.” So cold rice, left out overnight and eaten the next day - despite its healthy properties - also triggers cultural food safety reflexes in the West.
It's fascinating to explore the contrasts.
Lots of good information, thank you. Could you elaborate a little on this statement “Blending half a greenish banana into a smoothie (Just not with berries - their antioxidants don’t play well with bananas’ enzymes)”. I eat a muesli type mix for breakfast a lot. But I usually add banana, blueberries and strawberries.
Hi Sandra
Polyphenols - natural plant compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties - may be one of the main drivers behind the health benefits of fruit, right alongside fibre.
Because smoothies often include the skin and seeds of fruit, they tend to retain these valuable compounds. And in some cases, there’s evidence that polyphenols are more readily absorbed from a smoothie than from whole fruit.
But, and it’s a big but, if you, like me, enjoy throwing a banana into your smoothie to make it thick and sweet, you might be undoing a lot of that good.
Bananas contain an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, which rapidly breaks down polyphenols. (Mick Skolnick wrote about this in some detail on his Substack https://drmick.substack.com/).
Just 10 minutes after blending, you’ve already lost half your polyphenols. After 30 minutes, you’re down to about 10% of what you started with. So don’t hang around - drink your smoothie straight away. No saving half for later. Drink first. Wash the blender later!
Even more surprising, the effect isn’t limited to blending. Just eating a banana at the same time as a polyphenol-rich smoothie reduces how much of those compounds get into your bloodstream, so that’s likely happening when you eat banana and berries together with your muesli
It’s best then to keep bananas at a distance - time-wise - from your berries, grapes, cherries or citrus. Beet greens, apples and pears have a similar effect, though it’s much milder.
I was here to say the same thing. The majority of smoothy makers are wasting their time and money when they add a banana.
It’s true, and yet most people have no idea. It’s such a standard practice to throw some banana into a smoothie to thicken it.
Wow!
Hi Ben. Wow! Thanks for the information. Sounds like the banana will become a bedtime snack! Thank you so much for the explanation.
Sounds like a plan!
Years ago, I used to visit friends in Mauritius. They were horrified if I ate a banana in the evening as they believed it led to nightmares - the same way we think of cheese over here.
Let me know if you have any vivid dreams!
Any discovery about tubers: turnips, rutabagas, daikon- and where they may lie in the spectrum? I have gone looking but there is very sparse data
I can’t find anything on those either, Ellen. I suspect they’ve not really been investigated as they’re not as commonly eaten as the usual vegetable fare.
I did find one report that stated beetroot has a very low resistant starch content (≤0.04g/100g). [https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/CEF1B3210BFCD35385129EC931C167C0/S0029665124000685a.pdf/div-class-title-resistant-starch-content-of-selected-australian-foods-div.pdf]
Have you checked this out? https://glycemic-index.net/glycemic-index-chart/
I’d not seen that resource before. That’s very handy. I have it saved now. Thanks!
I eat a lot of all varieties of beans, but due to time constraints, I get them from a can (organic, no salt added). I open a can, portion it out, and freeze the portions. I wonder how these fall into the starch comparison? My hope is that since they are heated during canning, then cooled in the freezer, maybe the starch is at least preserved, even if not increased. But it’s anyone’s guess.
I’m sure they’ll be fine.
The starch in beans is resistant because it’s inside the cells, not because it’s been cooked and cooled, so nutritionally, I’d expect canned to be as good as dried.
I used to always used canned beans, too, but after I started using dried, I found they just taste better. They do take a bit of preparation, like overnight soaking and boiling for up to an hour, but you can do a big batch and freeze them in portions.
Slow cookers are great for that..
They are. I think pressure cookers can cut down cooking times a lot, too.
Slow cookers are fine. If you use a pressure cooker, you need to give a 15-20 minute sim setting on minimum flame after 4-5 whistles. Make sure you have enough water. Chickpeas get cooked soft easily. Red beans ( popular both in North India and South America) are tough. They need lot of soaking and extended in slow cooking. I understand that in old school restaurants in North India, both these are slow cooked in pots overnight on wood fire.
You’re becoming a fountain of leguminous wisdom, Moro. I’m learning loads!
Are the red beans you’re talking about the ones used in rajma? A Punjabi friend once told me it was his favourite comfort food, and I’ve always meant to try making it properly. Sounds like slow cooking is the key.
Appreciate the tips on pressure cooking too, especially the post-whistle simmering. It’s easy to forget how much variation there is in bean texture depending on method (and water, and altitude, and the bean’s mood that day...).
Yes, I was referring to Rajma only. There are quite a few varieties of it, including smaller, paler and patterned ones. You can check with your friend about the Jammu Rajma. It is a rare item in South Indian home pantries. Only those of us exposed to far flung places make it.
Forgot to mention. For consuming the left over cooked rice the next day with buttermilk/curd, it is NOT heated. Eaten cold.