Mujadarrah Lebanese Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions

Mujadarrah is Lebanese lentils and rice with caramelized onions, and it’s a dish I grew up on. We used to eat mujadarrah with a shredded cabbage salad and pita bread. Mujadarrah is such a simple dish with only 3 ingredients (not including olive oil and salt). It’s vegan-friendly and reheats really well.

Part of food blogging is trying to capture the essence of the dish through food photography. I’m not going to lie, I’ve been having a hard time lately taking photos of ugly food. There, I said it. Some food dishes are ugly inherently (like mulukhiyah).

Not every recipe looks as good as fatoosh or better than baba ganoush eggplant dip. Mujadarrah is an unflattering brown color, so the struggle is real. This dish is so good especially if eaten with a shredded cabbage salad.

The thing I love about Mujaddarah is the caramelized onions. Sometimes, I double the onions just to make sure I have enough because I like to have some of the caramelized onions in every bite.

Ingredients You’ll Need:

• Lentils: Mujadarrah uses brown or green lentils. Any other type of lentil, including red lentils, are not suitable substitutes because they cook too quickly.
• Rice: Any type of rice is suitable for this dish.
• Onions: I like to use white onions, brown onions, or sweet onions for this recipe. Green onions are not suitable, and I think red onions throw off the taste a tad bit.
• Olive oil: The best part of this dish is the caramelized onions, and they are made by slowly sauteing the onions in olive oil until they caramelize.
• Salt: Add salt to taste. Any type of salt will work well for this recipe.

You will also need:

• Large stockpot
• Non stick frying pan
• Spatula
• Immersion blender (or food processor)

Tips for Making Mujadarrah

1. Soak the lentils ahead of time. At a minimum, soak the lentils for 3 hours prior to cooking. My mother used to soak the lentils overnight, which is what my Tayta used to do too. The main reason for soaking the lentils is that it makes them easier to digest. Secondly, lentils cook quicker if soaked.
2. After soaking the lentils, rinse with fresh water. Drain the water that was used to soak the lentils, and rinse the lentils with fresh water.
3. Caramelize the onions slowly. In order for the onions to caramelize correctly, the temperature needs to be between medium and medium-high heat.
4. Make sure there’s adequate water. When cooking the lentils, make sure there is always enough water so the lentil doesn’t burn.
5. Top the lentils and rice with caramelized onions. Add half of the caramelized onions into the dish, and the other half on top. The caramelized onions are the magic ingredient to this dish.

How Do You Pronounce Mujadara?

Mujadara is pronounced moo-jada-ra. Try saying that 5 times fast.

Is Lentil Rice Healthy?

Yes! Lentil rice is made with lentils and rice only. If desiring to make this even healthier, you can substitute brown rice for the white rice.

How Long Does Mujadarrah Last?

If you keep mujadarrah in an airtight container in the fridge, it should be good for 5 days. The best way to reheat mujadarrah is in the microwave.

Try Some Other Lebanese Recipes

• Tabouli with Quinoa
• Eggplant Fatteh
• Sfiha Meat Pie Lahmajun
• Easy Baklava with Pistachios
• Shish Barak (Video)
• Homemade Labneh from Scratch
• Homemade Pita Chips

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