The Simple Yet Tasty Mujadara
Mujadara is a very old, lentils and rice dish having first appeared in 1226. This dish has a thousand different versions out there, and traditionally, it has the consistency of a rice pudding. The version I have created is the Lebanese variant where the rice and lentils remain intact and distinct.
This gorgeous Lebanese lentils and rice dish is so basic and easy to make, cost-effective, and one of my favourite dishes. #winning! I first tried this recipe many, many years ago in Brisbane and I kid you not when I say that this blew me away. So here I am, winging and recreating this delicious dish and sharing it with you.
This Dish Is Made With Just 3 Main Ingredients
These are basically the ingredients you will use for the mujadara – lentils, rice, and onions – lots of them! I used brown lentils (as how I was taught by an old Lebanese lady) soaked overnight. You can pretty much use any type of rice you want, I used basmati rice as I prefer the long grain rice over the others. And for the onions, the key is to cook them perfectly to have that savoury sweetness of caramelised onion.
Vegan Mujadara Recipe!
~INGREDIENTS~
- Olive Oil, for frying
- 2 large Onions, finely chopped
- 250 grams Brown Lentils, soaked*
- 1.5 l Boiling Water
- 1 cup Basmati Rice
- Salt, to taste
- Black Pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp #JOY
*Soaked for 1-2 hours and rinsed well
~METHOD~
On medium to high heat pour enough olive oil to cover the base of a medium-size pot.
Add the onions and saute for 30 minutes on a medium to low heat or until golden brown.
Add the rinsed lentils and water, and cook on high to medium heat with the lid on for an hour or until the lentils are soft.
Stir occasionally.
Add more water if it starts to evaporate.
Add the rice, pour in more water if needed and cook on low for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is cooked with the lid on.
Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Serve at room temperature.
***
Serves: 4-6
Cooking time: 1h 30 mins
Freezer-friendly: No
C, GF, DF, RSF, NF, VEG, V
What’s really good about this recipe is that left overs are more epic tasting. So yeah! Like the same dish but with more depth of flavor a few hours later. Please enjoy this recipe and let me know how it goes for you on my YouTube channel, and you can check out more recipes on my blog!
With love from my kitchen to yours,
Chef Cynthia Louise xx
