Mujadara Recipe
This is a vegan dish from the Middle East. It's easy to make.
Lentils
1/2 cup of rinsed brown or French lentils and a bay leaf - cook in water to cover until tender. Remove the bay leaf and set the lentils aside for now.
Carmelized Onions
While the lentils are cooking, saute the following ingredients in a heavy skillet until the onions are carmelized. Don't let them burn.
1/2-1 cup of thinly sliced onions, shallots or leeks
Garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon of sugar (jaggery or brown sugar is recommended)
olive oil
Soaked Raisins
While the lentils and onions are cooking, soak
1/2 cup of raisins in
juice of a 1/2 lemon, and
1 tablespoon of hot water
Rice
When the onions are ready, in a separate heavy skillet, combine the following ingredients:
1/2 cup basmati rice
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
If you are not using powdered spices, reduce the quantities to 1-2 teaspoons. I like to use the whole spices and grind them fresh.
Saute the rice and spices in olive oil then add 1-1&1/2 cups of water, cover the rice and cook it until tender.
When the rice is done, add the lentils, onions and raisins and stir. At this final stage you can also add 1-2 cups chopped tender greens like arugula, tender kale, etc...
Salt to taste.
Laura Spaulding
