Mujadara (Rice & Lentils dish)

Recipe by Cook's Hideout

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days Country: L for Lebanon Dish: Mujadara (Rice & Lentils dish) We are going to Lebanon, a country that is located in Western Asia. I think my first experience with Lebanese cuisine was at the local Mediterranean restaurant near my office. It was run by a super active mother-daughter team. They would memorize the orders in their heads and never wrote them down -- no matter how big the order was. They used to have the usual Mediterranean dishes like hummus, baba ghanoush, pita etc., but what I really...

Ingredients

• ½ cup lentils (Brown or Green - (I used whole masoor or brown ))
• ½ cup Rice (- (I use Jasmine rice, but any long grain rice should work))
• 1 onions (- large, thinly sliced)
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ tsp Cumin seeds
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp cumin (Ground)
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• to taste Salt

Method

1. Soak rice for 15~20 minutes.
2. Cook the lentils until almost cooked through, they should hold their shape and should not be mushy at all. I pressure cooked the lentils for 3 whistles, but you can boil them in a pot with 2cups of water.
3. Once the lentils are par cooked, heat 3tbsp oil in a thick bottomed pan, add the cumin seeds and cracked pepper and cook for 30 seconds; add the sliced onions and cook on medium flame, stirring occasionally until the onions are caramelized and are deep brown in color.
4. Remove half of the onions into a bowl and set aside for garnish later.
5. To the remaining onions in the pot, add the drained rice along with ground cumin, cayenne and salt. Mix well and cook for 2~3 minutes. Add the cooked lentils and 2~3 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat and cook covered until the rice is cooked through.
6. I pressure cooked everything for 2 whistles.
7. Serve the dish with the caramelized onions on top.

View the recipe instructions at Cook's Hideout