Mujadara - The Quintessential Middle Eastern Comfort Food
Mujadara is one of the most beloved comfort food peasant dishes of the Middle Eastern culture. It costs pennies to make yet tastes like a million bucks. Cook the onions as dark as you can without burning, or you will lose the essence of the dish. Serve with a big dollop of yogurt along with green onions, crispy radishes and Fattoush, if desired. This is Chef Saundra's personal recipe and it's delicious!
Ingredients
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed, if desired
4 cups water, divided
1/3+ cup olive oil or vegetable oil
3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced (4- 5cups)
1 tsp kosher salt, more to taste
1 cup long-grain white rice
Whole green onions & red radishes for garnish
Yogurt
Instructions
In a large sauté pan with a lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onions and cook until the onions are dark golden brown, darker than typical caramelized onions (about 20+ minutes). Sprinkle the onions with a teaspoon of salt as they cook. Cover with the lid at the beginning to cause the onions to sweat and brown faster. Keep regulating the heat from high to medium-high to accelerate the onions browning. Start the onions before the lentils.
Place the lentils in a medium pot with 2 cups of the water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, and then reduce the heat and simmer, cover until the lentils are par-boiled (10-12 minutes). If the water evaporates before the lentils are half-cooked, just add more. Remove from the heat, drain the lentils, if necessary and set them aside. If the lentils are done before the onions are browned, just set them to the side.
When the onions are deeply browned, add the rice, caramelized onions, including the oil from pan and remaining 2 cups water to the pot with the par-cooked lentils. Cover and bring back to a boil. Stir in a healthy pinch of salt.
Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice and lentils are both cooked through (about 15-20 minutes). Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the Mujadara hot or at room temperature with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a big dollop of yogurt &/or whole green onions and crispy radishes which are a delicious and beautiful accompaniment, if you like.
Add a side of salad like Fattoush, if you like. Enjoy!
