Recipe book · 60 min
Mujadara
Lentils and rice topped with a pile of deeply browned onions. Humble, cheap, and very good.
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How to cook it · about 60 minutes
- Rinse the lentils, put them in a pot with 4 cups of water, bring to a boil, then simmer 15 minutes until just tender but not mushy. Drain, keeping 2 1/2 cups of the cooking water. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear.
- While the lentils cook, halve the onions and slice them thin. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the onions with 1/2 tsp salt, stirring often, for 25 to 30 minutes until deep brown and some are crisp. Lower the heat if they catch. Lift out half of them onto paper towels for the top.
- Stir the cumin, cinnamon and allspice into the onions left in the skillet for 30 seconds, then scrape them into the lentil pot along with the rice, the saved cooking water and 1 1/2 tsp salt.
- Bring to a boil, cover tightly, turn the heat to low, and cook 18 minutes without lifting the lid. Take it off the heat and let it steam, covered, another 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
- Dice the cucumber and tomatoes and toss with chopped parsley, a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper.
- Pile the mujadara on a platter, top with the crispy onions, and serve with the yogurt and the salad on the side.
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