You’re probably thinking ‘Lentils and rice? NBD’.
But you must listen to me when I say this dish is an unassuming showstopper.
Like, everyone loves it.
The layering of toasted and caramelized flavours really make it crazy good.
I mean, caralmelized onions ramp up any recipe on their own.
Adding some heavy duty aromatics takes ’em to the next level.
I’ve made this dish many times and have brought it to many a middle eastern theme potluck. Yes. I have been to multiple middle eastern themed potlucks. The most recent being a book club meeting based on a book set in, you guessed it, Australia!
Kidding.
It was a huge hit, though.
These are the caramelized onions I set way aside. I say way aside because otherwise there would’ve been none left for garnish.
Brown lentils are super duper cheap and cook very quickly without getting too mushy. I myself have never used canned lentils for this, but my fellow book clubber gave it a try with them and found there was too much liquid remaining in the pan once the cooking was over. Hence, my reco to reduce the water to 2 cups if you’re going to use them.
All of these little steps to toast things (cumin/peppecorns, basmati rice, pine nuts) really do make a difference and add a deep, rich flavour to this dish. Don’t skips that stuff, k?
Once the cover is off, you can serve directly from the pot or fluff it up and transfer to another serving dish. I only used my corning ware here because I was transporting this batch. A great big colourful platter would be beautiful. Another one of my other favourite garnishes is pomegranate seeds. Easier when in season of course.
Just make sure you have something bright and colourful to give this otherwise brown dish an appetizing flair. It’s no lie we eat with our eyes.
Erin
Lentils, Rice & Caramelized Onions (Mujadara)
Serves | 6 |
Prep time | 10 minutes |
Cook time | 50 minutes |
Total time | 1 hour |
Website | Adapted from The Food Network |
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 Small yellow onions (thinly sliced)
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt (divided)
- 1 cup dried brown lentils (rinsed)
- ¾ cup basmati rice
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cinnamon stick (or ¼ tsp ground)
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- Lemon wedges, chopped parsley and greek yogurt for garnish
Note
If using canned lentils (about 2 cups), reduce water to 2 cups.
Directions
1. | In a large skillet or heavy bottomed pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and peppercorn and toast for about 1 minute until cumin starts to lightly brown. |
2. | Add onions and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook over medium low heat, stirring often and scrapping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan as you go, until they are a deep brown colour. Add 1-2 Tbsp of water as you go if they stick to the bottom of the pan. This will take about 30 minutes. |
3. | Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, cover dried lentils with about 2" of cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. |
4. | When onions are done, remove ½ of them with a slotted spoon and set aside. |
5. | Add basmati rice, ground cumin and cinnamon, stir carefully and sauté for 1 minute. Add 2½ cups water, lentils and remaining salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, keep covered and allow to sit for 5 minutes. |
6. | Remove cover, fluff with a fork and top with remaining onions, toasted pine nuts and parsley and serve with lemon wedges and greek yogurt. |
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