Description
Mujadara is a comforting and delicious lentil and rice dish from the Middle East, made with warm spices, caramelized onions, and fresh herbs.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 large onions (white or yellow)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (apple cider or balsamic)
- 1 cup dried lentils (green or brown)
- 4 cups water (for lentils)
- 1 teaspoon salt (for lentils)
- ½ cup basmati rice
- 3 cups water (for rice)
- ½ teaspoon salt (for rice)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 scallions, finely chopped (reserve green tops for garnish)
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (optional)
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
- ½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 4 lemon wedges (to serve)
- 1 cup yogurt tahini sauce or plain Greek yogurt (to serve)
Instructions
- Slice 4 large onions thinly (about 1/5 inch).
- Sauté onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil with ¾ teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon sugar for 5 minutes.
- Add 1 cup water, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer about 20 minutes until liquid evaporates.
- Increase heat to high, add 1 tablespoon vinegar, and stir 2 minutes; turn off heat and set onions aside.
- Bring 4 cups water to a boil; add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 cup rinsed lentils.
- Simmer 15 to 30 minutes until lentils are tender but intact; drain and set aside.
- Bring 3 cups water to a boil; add ½ teaspoon salt.
- Add ½ cup rinsed basmati rice; simmer on low 8 to 10 minutes until al dente; drain and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet.
- Add chopped scallions (reserve tops) and sauté 2 minutes.
- Add pressed garlic, paprika, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric (optional), and red pepper flakes; sauté 1 minute until fragrant.
- Stir in lentils, rice, half the caramelized onions, parsley, cilantro (optional), ½ teaspoon salt, and black pepper.
- Sauté a few minutes until warm and well combined; taste and adjust salt.
- Serve on a platter topped with remaining onions, scallion tops, and parsley, with lemon wedges and yogurt or yogurt tahini sauce.
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate per serving (1 of 4) without yogurt tahini sauce.
- Make-ahead: Cook onions, lentils, and rice up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate in airtight containers.
- Substitutions: Use brown basmati, jasmine, long grain, short grain, or brown rice. Use green, brown, black, French, or canned lentils (drain and rinse). Swap onions with store-bought crispy fried onions. Swap scallions with one onion. Adjust spices or use Lebanese seven-spice (bahārāt). Swap cilantro with fresh mint.
- Storage: Refrigerate 4 to 5 days in an airtight container. Freeze up to 3 months after cooling. Thaw in the fridge, then reheat.
- Reheating: Microwave about 2 minutes or warm on the stovetop with a little olive oil.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Middle-Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 393
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 744mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 64g
- Fiber: 19g
- Protein: 16g
- Cholesterol: 0mg