I prefer dried red lentils, not canned. They hydrate much faster than dried chickpeas, split peas or beans, and don't need to be pre soaked. I just rinse them, dump them in dry, and simmer them for about as long as I'd simmer rice for in a jambalaya or something.

Lentils can also be used as a thickener if you don't want to use cornflour. You would soak them in boiled water for 5 minutes to soften, or microwave them for a bit, dump most of the excess water, and blend them with a stick blender to a fine paste. This will thicken a soup or stew in the same way you might use a roux or cornflour slurry in a stew, or the same way you might use rice in a soup to make a bisque (except a bisque you normally pulse-blend 15 minutes after adding the rice to really thicken it up)