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Love is in my Tummy

Plant-based flavor

February 12, 2019 By Tina Dawson Leave a Comment

Mujadara – Lentils and rice with caramelised onions

Mujadara is a Middle eastern rice and lentil recipe that is flavored with caramelized onions and spices. Simple, yet extremely delicious.

The first time I saw the word ‘Mujadara’ was in a Middle-eastern restaurant. Obviously, I ordered it immediately, but the order was messed up and by the time they sorted it out, they were all out of Mujadara and I went home with complimentary apology falafels and a twinge of disappointment. This was about 2 years ago.

Since then I’ve hunted down for the recipe, watched countless videos on it’s making, earmarked several pages in recipe books, but the one thing I haven’t done is actually make the recipe. Until last month.

Since then, I’ve made it several, several times because it is simply and utterly blissful to chomp down spoonfuls after spoonfuls of this comforting meal. Did I mention ‘simple’? So few ingredients, yet so delectably flavorful, thanks to the magic of deep-fried onions and creamy lentils.

I’m not one for cooking lentils without a pressure cooker, but for this particular recipe, I highly recommend taking the slow route because as this dish cooks, you can use the time to prepare a simple kachumber/shirazi salad and maybe another side of  vegetables  stir-fried in harissa, just to round out the bowl.

But fuss is exactly what you won’t need to make for this dish. It is classically a minimal dish – just Mujadara and Shirazi salad is usually how it’s served. And that’s pretty much all you need.

Lentils, or more specifically Brown lentils are indubitably the star of this recipe. And when it comes to lentils, I cannot help but reinforce the importance of cooking them properly.

I’m positively appalled by the number of times I’ve come across recipes that do not call for a pre-soak, rather mention that lentils can be cooked directly to save time. That is highly incorrect. Yes, you can actually cook the lentils directly without soaking them first, but it would negate all of the goodness you’d get from consuming the lentils in the first place. I’ve written an extensive post detailing the reasons behind soaking your lentils. So, please, soak your lentils first.

And be sure to discard the soaking water too. And then rinse and then rinse again some more to get rid of all the phytic acid that’s leached into the water.

While the lentils are soaking, fry the onions until crisp. Thanks to my grandmother and her Burmese upbringing, my heart (and pantry) will always have a very special place for the magic that is fried onions. From flavoring Burmese recipes to making everything else a touch more exciting, it’s what I call ‘poor man’s saffron’. Save just a few spoons of the fried onions for garnishing later – the crunchy bits will offer a dramatic contrast to your Mujadara.

There are different versions of this recipe, but this is my preferred ratio of lentil to rice. If you’d much rather have more lentils than rice, simply swap the quantity and adjust water accordingly.

Add this to your weekly meal plan and eat through the week in rice bowls – combine them with a variety of salads on the side, protein of choice and enjoy the richness of this simple meal of rice and lentils!

Note:

  1. The lentils used here are ‘brown lentils’, which is the un-husked version of toor dal. If you cannot find brown lentils near you, feel free to substitute with any other lentil of choice, but note that cooking times and water needed will vary. Hence adjust accordingly.
  2. If you are using a husked version of lentil in your recipe, be sure to cook them al-dente to prevent it getting too mushy and blending into the rice.
  3. Fried onions can be made in advance and stored for upto a month in a closed container at room temperature, although it will loose it’s crispness.
  4. Lentils, as they grow older will become tougher to cook with.

And when you make this delicious Mujadara (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here!

Mujadara

Created by Tina Dawson on February 8, 2019

  • Prep Time:5m
  • Cook Time:45m
  • Total Time:50m
  • Serves: 3

Ingredients

For the fried onions

  • 4 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 1/2 medium red onions, finely sliced

To cook the lentils

  • 3/4 c brown lentils, soaked for atleast 1/2 hr
  • 2 1/4 c water
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
  • 1 tsp. salt

To cook the rice

  • 1 c basmati rice
  • 1/2 tsp. garam masala
  • 1/2 c water
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • a handful of fresh Cilantro, chopped

Instructions

Fry the onions

  1. Heat oil in a 21/2 quart casserole pot with a lid. Add the sliced onions in three batches, frying them on medium-low heat until golden brown and crispy. Drain on the sides of the pan, transfer to a plate and continue frying the remaining sliced onions. Set aside.

Cook the lentils

  1. Drain the water from the soaking lentils, and rinse out a few times to remove all traces of leached phytic acid. (more info in post)
  2. Bring 2 1/4 c of water to a rolling boil in the same pan you used to fry the onions. Add the soaked lentils, 1/4 c fried onions, ground cumin, coriander and 1 tsp salt. Cover partially and cook on medium heat for 25 minutes or until the lentils are cooked soft. There will still be a little water, that's ok.
  3. If you close the lid completely, the water will boil over. So to prevent that, I prop the lid open slightly with a wooden spoon.

Add the rice

  1. Wash and rinse the basmati rice, and add to the cooked lentils. Season with garam masala, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 c more water. Cover fully and cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until the rice is cooked and all the water has been absorbed.

Garnish

  1. Add the remaining fried onions, chopped cilantro and toss gently to mix. Serve with a refreshing side of kachumber/shirazi salad and/or vegan yogurt.
  • Print

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Filed Under: All Recipes, Cuisines, Gluten-free, Lunch/Dinner, Middle-Eastern, Table for two, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: basmati rice, brown lentil, fried onions, lentils, Middle-Eastern

Previous Post: « Crispy Masala Leaf Potatoes
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Hi! I'm Tina - the human behind all the content you see on this blog. Welcome to my little corner of the internet where I create flavorful and unique plant-based recipes.

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