Mujaddara (lentils & rice)

Recipe No.: A-24

Arab60 minServes 6

Mujaddara is a dish of lentils and rice (or bulgur) topped with fried onions, loved across the Levant and the Arab world. The name means 'pockmarked', as the lentils dot the rice. The earliest recorded recipe appears in al-Baghdadi's 1226 Kitab al-Tabikh, with meat, rice and lentils for celebrations; without meat it was a common dish of the poor, and a saying in the eastern Arab world holds that a hungry man would sell his soul for a dish of mujaddara.

Ingredients for Mujaddara

• For the lentils and rice
• 1½ cups(300 g) brown or green lentils, rinsed
• 1 cup(200 g) medium-grain or basmati rice, rinsed
• 4 cupswater, plus more if needed
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1½ tspsalt and 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tspallspice and ½ tsp black pepper
• For the fried onions
• 4large onions (about 800 g), very thinly sliced
• ½ cup(125 ml) olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 tspsalt
• To serve
• Plain yogurt, cucumber and tomato salad, and lemon

Method

1. For the onions: heat the oil in a wide heavy pan, add the onions and salt and cook over medium heat for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring often, until deep brown and crisp at the edges. Lift out half onto paper towels to crisp and leave the other half in its oil.
2. In another pot bring the lentils and 4 cups water to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook 20 minutes until slightly tender but not falling apart.
3. Add the rice, olive oil, salt, cumin, allspice, pepper and the half of the onions with its oil. Check the liquid sits about 1.5 cm above the mixture and add hot water if needed.
4. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook over very low heat for 18 to 20 minutes until the rice is cooked and the water is absorbed.
5. Turn off the heat and leave covered 10 minutes, then fluff gently with a fork.
6. Spread the mujaddara on a platter, top with the crisp onions, and serve warm or at room temperature with yogurt and salad.

Try the interactive Chef Meerath on the main site · هذه الوصفة بالعربية