Mujadara is a traditional Israeli recipe for a classic vegetarian dish of rice cooked with brown lentils that's served topped with caramelized onions. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Israeli version of: Mujadara.
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Mujadara is a comforting dish made from lentils and rice topped with caramelized onions. This vegetarian dish is popular all throughout the Middle East and the first recorded mujadara recipe can be found in a cookbook from Iraq that was published in 1226, though the origins of the dish stretch back much further than that. This specific version comes from Israel.
Ingredients:
400g white basmati rice
190g brown lentils
2 tsp ground cumin
80ml extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 bay leaves
2 pared strips of lemon peel (about 5cm long each)
2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp freshly-ground black pepper, or to taste
Method:
Pick over the rice then rinse under cold, running, water until the water runs clear. Turn into a bowl, cover with water then set aside to soak at room temperature for 90 minutes.
Whilst the rice is soaking, rinse and pick the lentils, removing and discarding any small stones or impurities.
Set a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat and bring 1l water to a boil. Add the lentils, bring back just to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, or until tender but not soft or mushy. Turn into a colander to drain then rinse with cold water to prevent any further cooking.
Set a large pan over medium heat. Add 4 tbsp of the olive oil and heat until sufficiently hot for frying. Add the drained lentils to the pan along with the cumin, salt and black pepper. Stir-fry the lentils to coat in the oil for 2 minutes. In the meantime, set the rice to drain in a colander.
Now add the drained rice to the pan and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low.
Rinse out the saucepan that you used to cook the lentils and pour in 750ml water. Bring to a boil then carefully pour the boiling water over the lentils and rice in the larger pan.
Stir to combine, increase the heat to medium high. Add the bay leaves and strips of lemon peel then bring everything to a boil. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook the rice for 20 minutes, or until the rice is just tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
Meanwhile heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions slices and fry, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and nicely caramelized (this is a slow cooking process and can take from 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on your desired level of caramelization).
After 20 minutes, take the rice off the heat, uncover the pan and fluff the rice with a fork. Re-cover the pan and set aside to steam for 15 minutes.
Fluff the rice and lentil mujadara mixture with a fork once more. Season the caramelized onions with salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
Turn the mujadara into a warmed serving bowl then top with the caramelized onions.
