Si quieres, pon un poco de comino en las lentejas.

Pon is the tú imperative of poner. It is used to give an instruction or suggestion directly to one person you address informally.

• tú pones = you put / you add
• pon = put / add

So:

• Pon un poco de comino... = Add a little cumin...

This verb is irregular in the imperative:

• poner → pon
• similar forms: hacer → haz, salir → sal, venir → ven

If you were speaking more formally, you would say:

• Ponga un poco de comino...

And if you were speaking to more than one person in Spain:

• Poned un poco de comino...

Si quieres literally means if you want.

In this sentence, it softens the instruction and makes it sound more like a suggestion:

• Si quieres, pon un poco de comino... = If you like / If you want, add a little cumin...

It is very common in Spanish to use si quieres to sound less direct.

You could think of it as:

• If you want, ...
• If you like, ...
• You can ..., if you want

Because this is a real, possible condition, Spanish uses the present indicative after si:

• Si quieres... = If you want...

Spanish normally does not use the present subjunctive after si in this kind of sentence.

So these are correct:

• Si quieres, pon comino.
• Si tienes tiempo, llámame.

But si quieras would be wrong here.

The comma separates the introductory phrase si quieres from the main instruction:

• Si quieres, pon un poco de comino en las lentejas.

It works like English If you want, add a little cumin...

The comma helps readability and is very natural here. In short spoken language, people may not think about it much, but in writing it is the normal choice.

Un poco de means a little bit of or simply a little.

• un poco de comino = a little cumin

The de is needed because poco is followed by a noun:

• un poco de agua
• un poco de sal
• un poco de aceite

Without a following noun, you can just say un poco:

• Añade un poco. = Add a little.

After expressions of quantity like un poco de, Spanish usually uses the noun without the article:

• un poco de comino
• un poco de azúcar
• un poco de sal

This is similar to English:

• a little cumin, not a little the cumin

You would use el comino when speaking about cumin in a more general or specific way:

• El comino es una especia muy usada. = Cumin is a widely used spice.

Here en means into / in.

• Pon un poco de comino en las lentejas = Put a little cumin in the lentils

Spanish uses en when something is placed inside or in a dish.

Using a here would not sound natural for this meaning. With food, Spanish commonly says:

• echar sal en la sopa
• poner azúcar en el café
• poner pimienta en la carne

In Spanish, foods and dishes often appear with the definite article when talking about a specific dish or the food being served.

So:

• las lentejas = the lentils / the lentil dish

In context, this often sounds more natural than leaving the article out.

Compare:

• Voy a hacer lentejas. = I’m going to make lentils / a lentil dish.
• Pon comino en las lentejas. = Add cumin to the lentils.

Here las lentejas probably refers to the lentils we are cooking/eating right now.

Usually, it can mean either, depending on context. In many everyday situations in Spain, las lentejas often refers to the lentil dish, not just the raw ingredient.

So this sentence could naturally mean:

• add cumin to the lentils
• add cumin to the lentil stew/dish

Spanish often uses the name of the main ingredient to refer to the whole dish.

Yes. In cooking, both poner and echar are very common.

• Pon un poco de comino en las lentejas.
• Echa un poco de comino en las lentejas.

Both mean something like add/put a little cumin in the lentils.

Very broadly:

• poner = to put
• echar = to throw / pour / add

In recipes and kitchen talk, echar is especially common in Spain.

Because Spanish usually leaves out subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb form.

• pon already tells you it is a command to tú

So:

• Pon un poco de comino... is normal
• Tú pon un poco de comino... is possible, but adds emphasis

Spanish is a language where subject pronouns are often omitted unless needed for contrast, emphasis, or clarity.

Grammatically, pon is an imperative, so it is a command form. But because it is preceded by si quieres, the overall tone is softer and more like a suggestion.

So it feels less like:

• Add cumin.

and more like:

• If you want, add a little cumin.

This is a very common way in Spanish to sound polite and relaxed.

If you were addressing someone as usted, you would use the formal imperative:

• Si quiere, ponga un poco de comino en las lentejas.

Changes:

• quieres → quiere
• pon → ponga

This is more polite or more distant. In everyday family or friendly situations, tú is much more likely.

In Spain, for informal you plural, the sentence would be:

• Si queréis, poned un poco de comino en las lentejas.

Changes:

• quieres → queréis
• pon → poned

For a formal plural, it would be:

• Si quieren, pongan un poco de comino en las lentejas.

Yes, comino is masculine:

• el comino

But in this sentence, you do not see the article because it appears after un poco de:

• un poco de comino

The noun’s gender still matters in other contexts:

• El comino está en el armario. = The cumin is in the cupboard.

In standard Spanish pronunciation, pon sounds roughly like pohn, but with a short, clean o sound and a clear final n.

A simple guide:

• pon → one syllable
• vowel like the o in not for many English speakers, though exact English matches vary by accent

Also:

• comino = koh-MEE-no
• lentejas = len-TEH-has in most of Spain, with the j pronounced like a strong breathy h

Yes, if the context is clear.

• Ponles un poco de comino.

Here les means to them, referring to the lentils or perhaps the dishes/portions, depending on context.

But the original sentence is clearer for learners because it explicitly says:

• en las lentejas

Spanish often uses indirect object pronouns in ways that do not match English word-for-word, so ponles can sound natural in conversation when everyone knows what les refers to.