Mejadra — rice and lentils with fried onions and a crisp salad
Rice and lentils with warm spices and plenty of golden-brown onions, served with a lemon-dressed tomato and cucumber salad for crunch and freshness.
Ingredients for two
| 140 g | Green or brown lentils dried green or brown lentils, no soaking needed |
| 120 g | Basmati rice 60 g per person, rinsed then soaked for 15 minutes |
| 300 g | Yellow onions 2 large onions, sliced 2 mm thick |
| 10 g | Plain wheat flour 1 level tbsp for the onions |
| 100 g | Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil 10 tbsp for frying the onions in two batches; 20 g is then used for the rice, while the rest, about half, is discarded but remains included in the nutritional values |
| 10 g | Extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp, for the salad |
| 3 g | Ground cumin 1 heaped tsp |
| 3 g | Ground coriander 1 heaped tsp |
| 1.5 g | Ground cinnamon ½ tsp |
| 2.5 g | Baharat spice blend 1 level tsp; substitute ground allspice if unavailable |
| 200 g | Tomatoes, vine or round 1–2 tomatoes, finely diced |
| 150 g | Cucumbers 1 large Israeli cucumber or 1½ cucumbers, finely diced |
| 15 g | Flat-leaf parsley a handful of leaves, chopped |
| 60 g | Lemon juice of half a lemon, 25 g |
| 970 g | Water 700 g to partly cook the lentils, 270 g for the rice |
| 7.5 g | Fine salt 1 g for the onions, 5 g for the rice and lentils, 1 level tsp, and 1.5 g for the salad |
| 1 g | Ground black pepper ⅓ tsp, a generous pinch |
Method
- Rinse the lentils, put them in a saucepan with 700 g cold water and bring to a simmer. As soon as they simmer, set a timer for 10–12 minutes over a medium-low heat and immediately start the onions in step 2. When the timer rings, taste: the centres should still offer clear resistance when bitten, as they will finish cooking with the rice. Drain. During this initial cooking, rinse the rice until the water runs clear and soak in cold water for 15 minutes, then drain well.
- Slice the onions 2 mm thick and separate the slices. Heat the 100 g sunflower oil in a small saucepan or 20 cm frying pan, giving about 3 mm depth, over a medium-high heat until an onion slice sizzles immediately, about 170 °C. Only then toss half the onions with flour and immediately add to the oil. Leave undisturbed for the first minute, then stir regularly. Fry for 6–8 minutes until light golden brown, then lift out with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper; they will darken further off the heat. Immediately season with half the gram of salt. Flour and fry the other half in the same way, using the same oil and lowering the heat as soon as the edges darken quickly. Salt while hot; they become crisp as they cool. Keep the frying oil.
- In the saucepan used for the lentils, heat 20 g of the brown, fragrant onion frying oil, spooned from the frying pan, over a medium heat. Add the cumin, coriander, cinnamon and baharat and stir for 20–30 seconds: the spices should become fragrant without browning. Add the drained rice and stir for 1 minute to coat every grain.
- Add the partly cooked lentils, the 270 g water, 5 g salt and the pepper. Bring to the boil, stir once, then cover. Cook over the lowest heat for 12 minutes without lifting the lid. Turn off the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes, still covered: the rice and lentils will finish absorbing the moisture.
- During the 12 minutes of cooking, cut the tomatoes and cucumber into 5 mm dice and chop the parsley; set them aside. Dress only after the resting time, just before serving, with the 10 g olive oil, 25 g lemon juice and 1.5 g salt, so the salad stays crisp without releasing water.
- Uncover the pan and check that the rice is tender and the lentils are cooked but still holding their shape; taste and add salt if needed. Fluff gently with a fork, fold in half the fried onions, then divide between two plates. Top with the remaining onions and serve the salad separately to preserve their crispness.
Lighter version
- Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil : 30 g
- Plain wheat flour : removed
In step 2, leave out the flour and use the traditional mujaddara method: add all 300 g onions to 30 g sunflower oil, 3 tbsp, over a medium heat and cook for 20–25 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. They turn translucent, then golden, then mahogany brown with crisp edges. As soon as they are dark brown, lift onto kitchen paper with a slotted spoon and salt immediately.
In step 3, cook the spices in the onion oil left at the bottom of the pan, scraping it up with a spoon. There will be little left; add a splash of water if the spices start to catch.
Onions slowly browned over a medium heat in 3 tbsp oil instead of fried in a deeper layer: less crisp but sweet and deeply flavoured, in the original Levantine style.
On your plate
Recipe
1050 kcal · protein 27 g · carbs 98 g · fat 59 g
Quantities per person
- 70 g Green or brown lentils
- 60 g Basmati rice
- 150 g Yellow onions
- 5 g Plain wheat flour
- 50 g Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil
- 5 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 g Ground cumin
- 1.5 g Ground coriander
- 0.75 g Ground cinnamon
- 1.25 g Baharat spice blend
- 100 g Tomatoes, vine or round
- 75 g Cucumbers
- 7.5 g Flat-leaf parsley
- 30 g Lemon
- 485 g Water
- 3.75 g Fine salt
- 0.5 g Ground black pepper
Cooking tips
The onions are the main seasoning, not just a garnish: fry them to a deep golden brown, but never black. If older lentils are still very hard after 12 minutes, extend their initial cooking by 5 minutes. If the rice is still firm after resting, add 30 g boiling water, cook over a low heat for 3 minutes, then leave off the heat for 5 minutes. For a dairy dinner, spoon plain yoghurt or labneh onto the plate, Israeli style; serving labneh as a starter makes the meal dairy, with no meat that evening. For a pareve dinner, serve torshi, turnips pickled in vinegar, or a little harissa alongside. Leftovers reheat very well and are also good warm or cold; keep the finishing onions separate so they stay crisp.
Levantine mejadra, or mujaddara: rice, lentils and fried onions, served with a lemon-dressed salad.
Comments and reviews
No comments published yet.
Share your experience
Your first name will appear with your comment. No additional email is required. Comments are reviewed before publication.