Lentil Croquettes from 1000 vegetarian recipes

These may look a bit strange , but I love them and I love their flavor! I found them in 1000 vegetarian recipes (a book).

Ingredients:

1 cup split red lentils (I only had the brown ones)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped (I used about 2/3 of a large one)
2 garlic cloves, crushed (I used minced)
1 tsp garam masala (McCormick makes this)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cummin
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped unsalted peanuts (don't leave this out--really adds to flavor)
2 & 1/2 cups water
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp all-purpose flour (I used Gluten free)
1 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp chili powder
4 tbsp vegetable oil (if cooking in skillet--I broiled mine and used less)
salt and pepper
salad greens and herbs, to serve
I needed a bit of extra flour and I used rice flour

1. Put the lentils in a large pan with the bell pepper, onion, garlic, garam masala, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, lemon juice and peanuts. Add water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently , stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes for the red lentils OR until all the liquid has been absorbed. My brown lentils take more like 45 minutes, but it may depend on the brand you use. You want the WATER TO BE ABSORBED and lentils tender.

2..Remove mixture from heat and let cool for a while. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Beat in the egg. Then let cool completely or until it can be handled with hands.

3. With floured hands, form the mixture into ovals. (I had to add some rice flour here because mine was too loose).

4. Combine all purpose flour, turmeric, and chili powder on a small plate. Roll the croquettes in the spiced flour mixture to coat thoroughly. (I actually just mixed this all in the lentil batter since I was going to broil mine and it needed the thickening and as I said I also added some extra rice flour).

5. Heat the oil in a large skillet (or preheat the broiler if broiling). Add the croquettes, in batches and cook turning once, for about ten minutes until crisp on both sides. (I put mine on a non stick cookie sheet and then sprayed a bit of olive oil on each patty. Then I put it a few inches under the broiler and cooked about 5-6 minutes on one side, flipped them and cooked another 5-6 minutes or so until they were turning brown and bit crisp.

Serve in any way you desire and you can use a dipping sauce as well.