Mujaddara

Ingredients

Lentils

• 300 gbrown or green lentils
• 1 litrewater
• 1bay leaf

Rice

• 250 glong-grain or basmati rice, rinsed

Onions

• 5large onions, sliced thinly and evenly
• 200 mlolive oil, or a neutral oil for frying
• 1 tspsalt

Spice

• 2 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tspallspice
• ½ tspcinnamon
• salt and black pepper

To serve

• thick yoghurt or labneh
• a chopped tomato and cucumber salad
• lemon wedges
• flatbread

Directions

1. Slice the onions thinly and as evenly as you can manage. Salt the sliced onions and let them stand 10 minutes, then squeeze out the liquid. Fry them in plenty of oil over a medium heat, stirring, for 25 to 35 minutes. This takes far longer than you expect and it cannot be rushed on high heat, which burns the edges while the rest stays raw.
2. Take them past golden, right to a deep mahogany brown, just short of burnt. Onions stopped at golden give a bland dish and this is the commonest failure.
3. Lift out about half the onions onto paper and spread them out to crisp. Spread them in a single layer rather than piling them, or they steam each other soft. Keep the onion-flavoured oil, which is where a great deal of the taste now lives.
4. Simmer the lentils with the bay in water for 15 to 20 minutes, until nearly tender but still holding their shape. They finish with the rice, and lentils boiled to done turn to mush in the final pot.
5. Drain them, keeping the cooking liquid, and measure it out to cook the rice in. Put the lentils, rinsed rice, remaining fried onions, spices and salt in a pot with about 500 ml of the lentil liquid and a good pour of the onion oil.
6. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 20 minutes. Do not lift the lid or stir it during those 20 minutes, which lets out the steam doing the cooking.
7. Rest it off the heat, covered, for 10 minutes, then fork it through gently. Pile it on a platter and heap the crisp reserved onions over the top. Serve warm or at room temperature with yoghurt and a sharp salad.

Technique

• Mudardara, mujaddara and megadarra are regional names for close variations.
• Bulgur replaces rice in some Syrian and Palestinian versions.
• The yoghurt is not a garnish and the dish is noticeably flat without something sour alongside.

Substitutions

• Bulgur in place of rice, which is traditional in parts of the Levant.
• Shop-bought crispy fried onions, which is a real shortcut and a real compromise.

Variations

• Made with bulgur.
• With the lentils and rice cooked to a soft porridge, which is the Egyptian koshari-adjacent style.
• With a scattering of toasted pine nuts.

History

Lentils and rice under caramelised onions, recorded in a thirteenth-century Baghdadi cookbook as a dish of the poor.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mujaddara?

Mujaddara is a main from Lebanon: lentils and rice crowned with caramelized onions; humble everyday staple. Lentils and rice under caramelised onions, recorded in a thirteenth-century Baghdadi cookbook as a dish of the poor.

How long does Mujaddara take to make?

Mujaddara takes 20 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mujaddara?

Yes, within limits. Bulgur in place of rice, which is traditional in parts of the Levant. Shop-bought crispy fried onions, which is a real shortcut and a real compromise.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mujaddara?

Lift out about half the onions onto paper and spread them out to crisp. Spread them in a single layer rather than piling them, or they steam each other soft. Keep the onion-flavoured oil, which is where a great deal of the taste now lives.