Every culture has their staple dishes and their version of “comfort food”. And in many cultures this dish is Mujadara.
Put simply, Mujadara is a lentil and rice dish with spices, caramelized onions and herbs. It’s often served with lemon and sometimes topped with yogurt.
Each region has its variation of this classic dish. And the spellings of the dish are as varied as the preparations ~ mujaddara, m’jadara, mudardara, among others.
According to Wikipedia, Mujaddara is the Arabic word for “pockmarked”, because the lentils stand out among the rice when cooked.
Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, India, and even some Mediterranean countries and Jewish cultures have their version of Mujadara.
Some cultures use basmati rice, others use bulgur wheat. All use lentils, typically brown or green. Some recipes call to cook the lentils and rice together, others par-cook one or the other first.
Mujadara variations you can try:
- quinoa
- bulgur
- brown rice
- brown lentils
- green lentils
- black lentils
My version of Mujadara is made with these green lentils and this basmati rice, each soaked and cooked separately before combining. This makes cooking each to perfection much easier, and yielding a prettier finished dish (when cooked together the lentils can turn to brown mush and the rice dark brown!).
Just adjust cooking time if experimenting with variations. i.e. brown rice would take 45 minutes to cook
Top the mujadara with caramelized onions, plain coconut yogurt & toasted almonds
I soak the lentils and rice separately for three hours, then drain, rinse and cook. The lentils are simmered in salted water. The rice is cooked with toasted cumin, coriander and a cinnamon stick.
While the lentils and rice cook I get going on the caramelized onions ~ the best part! These take at least 30 minutes, so be patient. You can even do this part ahead of time to give it your full attention.
Tip: don’t skip the caramelized onions on top, those are the best part!
This meal is a complete protein, so you can enjoy it as a main dish. To round out the meal I suggest topping with the caramelized onions, toasted almonds (or pine nuts), chopped fresh cilantro, a dollop of plain unsweet coconut yogurt, and a crisp salad on the side. For the yogurt, I like the Coyo Organic plain coconut yogurt. It’s thick like Greek yogurt, is dairy-free, and is available at most Whole Foods and other health food stores.
You could even whip up an herby zhoug or tahini sauce.
Serve Mujadara with any or all of these:
- caramelized onions
- plain coconut yogurt
- sliced lemon
- fresh herbs
- tahini sauce
- zhoug sauce
- Israeli salad or a green salad
Serve with a crisp salad like this herby cucumber & tomato salad with olive oil
For my salad I kept it simple and used heirloom green tomatoes, cucumber, fresh herbs, a drizzle of a high quality extra-virgin olive oil and some flaky sea salt. Five ingredients, five minutes, and you have a fresh crisp accompaniment to this dish.
If you try this recipe be sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see your handy work!
Like Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes? Don’t miss these recipes…
Persian Shirazi Salad (vegan, GF)
Tahini Sauce (vegan, GF)
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 45 minutes |
| Passive Time | 3 hours |
| Servings |
servings
|
- 1 cup green lentils
- 1 cup white basmati rice
- 1 tbsp extra virgin avocado or olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp salt divided
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 tbsp extra virgin avocado or olive oil
- 2 large onions halved and sliced 1/8” thin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 lemon sliced
- 1 5-oz container plain unsweet coconut yogurt
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro or parsley leaves chopped
- 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds or pine nuts
Ingredients
Rice and lentils ingredients
Caramelized onions ingredients
To serve dish
|
|
- soak rice and lentils in filtered water separately for about 3 hours, drain and rinse
- cook rice: heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, when hot add cumin and coriander and “toast" for 2-3 minutes, stirring often, then add rice to pan and cook another 1-2 minutes, stirring often (do not let rice burn or brown)
- add 2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to pan, cover, bring to a simmer and cook rice for 15 minutes; remove lid but do not stir rice yet, gently nestle cinnamon stick into rice and let steam covered for 10 minutes
- meanwhile, cook lentils: bring a large pot of water to a boil, add lentils and 1/2 teaspoon salt; simmer lentils until tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes if they were soaked; drain but do not rinse lentils
- gently fluff rice with a fork, then gently stir in lentils and discard cinnamon stick, cover and keep warm until serving
- make caramelized onions: heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat, when hot add onions and 1/4 teaspoon of salt; cook onions over medium heat, stirring occasionally until deep brown, between 30-45 minutes; add a splash of water if pan starts to dry out and/or turn heat down to low if they brown too quickly
- stir chopped herbs into rice and lentils, top with toasted nuts, a generous dollop of coconut yogurt and caramelized onions, serve fresh lemon and a salad or sauce on the side
Recipe serves 4 - 6 as a main dish
Original recipe created by Jerran Boyer
www.healthnutchefs.com