Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Crispy Onions)
The Levantine poor man's feast — brown lentils and rice cooked together with cumin and topped with a heap of onions fried slowly until deep brown and crisp, which are the whole point of the dish.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 200 g brown or green lentils, rinsed
- 200 g basmati rice, rinsed
- 1 kg onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 150 ml olive oil
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 0.5 tsp ground allspice
- 2 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper, ground
- 800 ml water
- 10 g flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to serve
Nutrition (estimated)
high confidenceRecipe total: 2726 kcal · P 45.4g · C 297.7g · F 155.4g
Estimated from 10 of 10 ingredients
Approximate estimate, calculated from the ingredients.
Steps
Steps
- 1Put the lentils in a pan with 600 ml of the water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, until just tender but holding their shape; do not drain.
- 2Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a wide frying pan over medium-high heat and fry the onions with a pinch of the salt for 25–30 minutes, stirring often and lowering the heat as they colour, until deep brown and crisp at the edges.
- 3Lift two thirds of the onions onto kitchen paper, where they will crisp further, and leave the rest in the pan.
- 4Spoon 3 tbsp of the onion oil into the lentils with the cumin and allspice, then add the rice, the remaining onions, the rest of the salt and the pepper. Top up with the remaining water so the liquid covers everything by about 1 cm.
- 5Bring to the boil, cover tightly and cook on the lowest heat for 18–20 minutes, until the rice is tender and the liquid absorbed.
- 6Take off the heat and rest, covered, for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
- 7Pile onto a platter, top with the crisp onions and the parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.
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Questions and answers
How long does Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Crispy Onions) take to make?
About 75 minutes: 15 min prep and 60 min cooking.
What ingredients do you need for Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Crispy Onions)?
10 ingredients: brown or green lentils, basmati rice, onions, olive oil, ground cumin, ground allspice, salt, black pepper, water, flat-leaf parsley.
How many servings does this Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Crispy Onions) recipe make?
4 servings. The servings buttons above the ingredients rescale every amount.
How many calories are in a serving of Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Crispy Onions)?
About 681 kcal, with 11.3 g protein, 74.4 g carbohydrate and 38.8 g fat. This is an estimate from the ingredients, not a lab analysis.
Which diets does this Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Crispy Onions) recipe suit?
It is vegan and gluten-free.
What cuisine is Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Crispy Onions)?
Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Crispy Onions) comes from Middle Eastern cuisine.
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