Mujaddara is a simple Levantine rice and lentil pilaf that is considered to be a “poor man’s dish”. It’s also a dish that’s very near and dear to my heart. Let’s rewind to about two years ago. I was 22, just a couple weeks shy of turning 23. I was studying in Egypt for the third time. Living on my own, I often struggled with what to eat. As much as I loved street food, I wanted to make more simple dishes on my own. But my cooking skills hadn’t really evolved since the days my parents allowed me to stay home alone without a babysitter (macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles, etc). There I was, living thousands of miles away from home and lacked the ability to feed myself. Cooking, I realized, was a basic life skill and it was something I was lacking. I refused to believe that humans made it this far so we could live off Lean Cuisine meals and individual containers of sugary yogurt. I decided it was time for a change.
So, I went to Diwan Bookstore and bought a cookbook with mostly Egyptian and other Middle Eastern recipes. After skimming through the book, I settled on something that looked easy: mujaddara. I went to a local supermarket and purchased the ingredients and when I arrived home, I cut an onion for the first time in my life. Yes, at the age of 22. My first attempt at making mujaddara was merely OK, but that didn’t deter me. I made it constantly the rest of the summer until I had perfected my own version. Now, I usually prefer to make more complex dishes but I still love to return to the simplicity of mujaddara. What sets it apart from just being legumes and rice are the caramelized onions. They’re so tangy and sweet. They should be a part of every cook’s repertoire. Even if you don’t have much of an interest in making mujaddara, try to make caramelized onions and eat them with some toast and butter.
Of course, the only downside to this dish is cutting the onions. I took pictures of my suffering because I like embarrassing myself on the internet:
The best picture is the fifth and by “best” I mean “worst”.
Anyhow, on with the recipe!
Mujaddara
Print this recipe4 onions, sliced
3/4 c lentils
3/4 c rice
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
ground cardamom, cinnamon, cumin (optional)
- Heat oil and a dash of salt in a large non-stick skillet over medium low heat, and add onions. Stir the onions every few minutes, for about 30 minutes. Turn the heat up a bit more and continue cooking the onions until they are a deep, golden brown, another 15-20 minutes or so. Set aside.
- In the meantime, prepare the lentils and rice according to their package directions (some people cook them together in the same pot, but I find that this results in overcooked lentils, so I always cook them separately).
- Mix together the lentils, rice, most of the onions, salt, pepper, and a couple glugs of olive oil to a large pot. Heat until the mixture is warm, add more salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve in bowls and garnish with the remaining caramelized onions. Serve warm.
Serves 2
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Tags: arabic, vegan, vegetarian
Is this an Egyptian version of mujaddara? The lentil to rice ratio is very different than what my family prepares, we also add spices. I’d like to try some sort of variation of the two once I get home from college and have a real kitchen.
I think the closest thing Egyptians have to mujaddara is koshari. My version is loosely adapted from Samia Abdennour’s “Egyptian Cooking and Other Middle Eastern Recipes”. The recipe is considered Palestinian, in her book at least – and calls for more much more lentils than rice. From what I’ve seen, basically no two recipes of mujaddara are the same! I once ordered mujaddara at a Lebanese restaurant and was served a bowl of lentils garnished with raw red onions and a small bowl of yogurt to mix in.
I’ve added spices before (cumin, cardamom, cinnamon), but ultimately I like to let the caramelized onions be the star of the show. I think I’ll edit the post though, and add spices as an optional variation for those looking for a bit more flavor. Thanks for the comment!
Looks delicious … there are many versions of mujaddara … each house makes it differently .. some people make it with burgul instead of rice but its called mudardara … well as i like caramilized onions … i like you version
Laila … http://www.lailablogs.com
This sounds lovely! Thank you so much for the great idea. I think you just solved my pre-oscar lunch dilema!
Best,
Emily
http://www.justeatfood.com
I love Mujaddara, but have not had it in years! This looks fabulous!
@Laila – Alf shukr, ya Laila.
@ Emily & Jamie – If you make this recipe, let me know how it turns out! Mujaddara is a definitely a comfort food for me.
Mmmm… I’ve never tried mujaddara before. This looks deeeelicious! I have some lentils in my cupboard so now I’ll be able to put them to good use!
Jennifer – If you make it, I’d love to know how it turns out! Mujaddara is a pretty ideal thing to make when your pantry is getting bare. I always have the ingredients on hand.
My favorite dish. Love it
Hi Rose,
Found you via Tastespotting. My husband is Palestinian and since we got married, this is an almost weekly staple in our house. I love that it’s getting some attention as of late! It’s so perfect.
We usually have almost equal parts of rice and lentils. We cook the lentils about half-way first, then add the rice to the same pot. This gives the rice a nice brown color that I love. I serve is with “arabic salad” (tomatoes, cucumbers, olive oil, and lemon juice) and yogurt. YUM! Might have to make this tonight.
Thanks for showcasing it!
looks great! simple and tasty. can’t wait to make it.
Thanks everyone!
@Sarah – I like having mujaddara with a similar salad, but it’s a pretty standard go-to staple of mine when there’s nothing else in the pantry. :]
Very tasty indeed. Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome, Kelly!
YUM! I was planning mujaddara tonight, since I have lentils and rice and onions, and I found this when I was recipe hunting! This recipe looks scrumptious! I may cut back a bit on the oil, however, since I’m trying to watch my weight! I LOVE mujaddara!! Thanks!
You’re right. Carmelized onions are the shiznit!
Ahahah, “shiznit”. I love putting caramelized onions on pizzas too. Oooooooh.
Rose, I make this with brown rice as a healthy alternative, I start with equal parts of lentils and (soaked) rice, and cook them together with raw onions, oil, cumin and some cinnamon, and add the carmelized onions on top… definitely a favourite (by the way, I make a tasty salad to go along, in a food processor, tomatoes, chilies and corriander (you can add onion if you still crave more
Hi Ruba, I don’t think you can tell – but that’s brown rice in the picture. It’s the only rice we buy, even though I will always secretly love white rice more than brown rice.
I love to serve mujaddara with tabbouli or fattoush.
[...] constantly changing in the kitchen, but there are a few recipes I rarely ever stray from – mujaddara, for example. As much as I love the traditional hummus bi tahina (hummus with tahini), I’m [...]
I am looking for a recipe that a colleague from Iran sed to make. It had brown rice. lentils, turmeric and garlic. Do you know about that?
Sue, the closest thing I can think of is adas polow, but I’m not sure if that’s quite what you’re looking for. http://javanehskitchen.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/adas-polou-or-persian-lentil-rice/
I just made a lentil and cheddar cheese dish from a new vegetarian cookbook I have. I can’t wait to make Mujaddara- sounds delicious and so very healthy. Thanks!
This recipe is absolutely fantastic! I put a stick of cinnamon in with the lentils while they were cooking, and added a dash of cumin and ground red pepper. I could eat a whole pot all by myself.
Thanks, Dave! I made mujaddara the other night, actually. I almost did eat the whole pot by myself.
I love this recipe and make a combo of this with kushari – I leave out the macaroni that is often in the Egyptian dish but serve it with a spiced tomato sauce (garlic, salt, pepper, coriander, cumin & tomato sauce – can add some hot paprika for heat if you like) and yogurt. This with a salad is an amazing meal that I can eat all week with a spinach pie or two and a pot of veggie or red lentil soup. A week of food for about $10. Also a great dish to serve for vegan friends (without the yogurt). Thank you!
Made this for the first time this morning…loved it..I added just a hint of garlic because I have to put garlic in everything, but the carmelized onions are the star of this dish. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
My sister bought some at Borough Market in London – made with barley instead of rice. The spices (cumin and ??) were perfect, but it is the onions that make this dish. I have made this at home with cumin as the sole spice. Serve w/ extra onions on top and a side of tzatziki – perfect, nutritious, and inexpensive. I am hooked!