Mujaddara (Lentils & Rice with Caramelized Onions) - Mediterranean Recipe

Mujaddara (Lentils & Rice with Caramelized Onions)

🌍 Mediterranean, Lebanon/Levant Difficulty: ●●●○○

This dish appears in Kitab al-Tabikh (Baghdad, 1226) as "muqaddara" — one of the earliest lentil-rice recipes recorded.

Ingredients

• 250g brown lentils
• 200g long-grain rice
• 4 large onions
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp allspice
• salt
• pepper
• yogurt to serve

Method

1. Cooking — Cook lentils in water until just tender (~20 min). Drain.
2. Cooking — Cook rice with lentils and spices in 500ml water until absorbed.
3. Step 3 — Separately, cook sliced onions in oil on medium-low heat 45–60 min until deeply caramelized. Set half aside for garnish.
4. Stirring — Stir half the caramelized onions into rice mixture.
5. Serving — Serve topped with reserved crispy onions. Accompany with cold yogurt.

Tags: brown lentils, long-grain rice, onions, olive oil, cumin · Source: Brittani's Almanac