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Mujaddara Recipe

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Mujaddara is a delicious, vegan recipe made with lentils, fried onions, and rice. It's a fantastic Middle Eastern recipe that's total comfort food.

The Levant region of the Middle East (the Eastern Mediterranean countries) has some of the best food in the world, like rice, cucumbers, mint leaves, pomegranate, tons of spices, olives, hummus, etc.  This dish is no exception. It's delicious.

A large bowl of mujaddara next to a bowl of yogurt sauce and sliced lemons.

What to serve with Mujaddara

Mujaddara tastes best when served alongside a tangy minted yogurt sauce and a bright, fresh vegetable salad, like our favorite fattoush salad.

Mujaddara can be too heavy on its own, so brighten it up with something fresh.

It's also delicious with some golden raisins to mix in the mujaddara to change it up.

Ingredients

To make mujaddara, you'll need onions, lentils, rice, water, neutral oil, flour, salt, and a bunch of spices (coriander, cumin, turmeric, and allspice).

We suggest serving this recipe with minted yogurt and to make that you'll need Greek yogurt, mint, cucumbers, lemon juice, Aleppo pepper, salt, and pepper.

Ingredients for mujaddara - including onions, lentils, rice, oil, water, and spices.
Ingredients for minted yogurt in a mixing bowl.

Tips for Making This Recipe

Be careful with the oil, it can spit when you throw in the onions.

Don't try to fry different kinds of onions together - they have different fry times. So if you don't have four white onions, and you decide to use two red ones and two white ones, just keep them separate for the frying bit.

You can use brown rice in this recipe if you don't eat white rice, but it needs to be soaked for an hour before using it - or it will be too crispy compared to the lentils.

Yield: 6 servings

Mujaddara with Minted Yogurt

Mujaddara recipe in a large white serving bowl.

Mujaddara is a delicious Middle Eastern recipe made with lentils, fried onions, and rice.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Additional Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

Mujaddara Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cup green lentils
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 white onions, thinly sliced
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 1 cup jasmine rice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried coriander
  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Yogurt Sauce Ingredients

  • 2 cups Greek yogurt
  • 2 small cucumbers, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely minced or grated
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon Aleppo pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Place the lentils and the water in a saucepan over high heat, bring to a boil, and then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes and then set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, toss the onions with the flour and a pinch of kosher salt.
  3. Heat the oil in a large pot or dutch oven over high heat. Test to see if the oil is ready by putting a small piece of onion in - if it sizzles immediately it's ready. 
  4. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add ⅓ of the onions. Do not overcrowd the onions. 
  5. Using tongs, spread the onions out around the pot. Let fry, stirring occasionally for 5 to 8 minutes. 
  6. Once the onions are crispy and golden brown, remove them from the pot and place them in a colander lined with a paper towel (this will soak up the excess oil). Repeat with the rest of the onions.
  7. Once the onions are fried, dispose of the oil from the pot and return it to the stove over medium heat. Add the rice, remaining salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, and allspice. Let toast for 30 seconds, stirring gently. 
  8. Add the lentils (with their water) to the rice and spices. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
  9. While the lentils and rice cook, combine all the ingredients for the yogurt sauce in a mixing bowl and stir to combine.
  10. Remove the pot from the heat, lift the lid, and cover with a dish towel and place the lid back on
  11. Let rest for 10 minutes. 
  12. Remove the lid and towel and stir gently. Add half the fried onions and stir to combine. 
  13. Place in a large serving bowl or plate individually and add the rest of the onions to the top. 
  14. Serve the mujaddara with a generous dollop of the minted yogurt.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 529Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 34gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 922mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 6gSugar: 7gProtein: 15g

Samantha

Tuesday 26th of January 2016

Yummmm!!! This sounds so amazing, i cannot wait to get into the kitchen and make this! Perfect!

Sam xx

Emily Wilson

Tuesday 26th of January 2016

Yay! I'm glad you like it. I LOVE your website - beautiful stuff!

Yum Girl

Sunday 24th of January 2016

Welcome to Yum Goggle! We are following you on all social media and hope you will follow us back. Also, we will try our best to tag you as we promote your posts. Kelli at YG!

Emily Wilson

Monday 25th of January 2016

Thanks, Kelli!

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