Mujadara
Ingredients
1 1/12 cups Gold Enriched Parboiled Long Grain Rice
1 cup Brown, Green or Black lentils (the red/orange lentils will not work for this recipe)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground seven spice
Salt, to taste
Water, cooking liquid
Caramelized Onions
3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup olive oil Salt, to taste
Tomato Salsa
2 large tomatoes
1/2 jalapeno, seeded
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cucumber Yogurt Salad
2 cups plain yogurt; use Kitehill’s almond unsweetened yogurt for a dairy-free alternative
1 tablespoon dried mint
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lemon, freshly squeezed juice
2 Persian cucumbers; chopped
Salt, to taste
Preparation
- The onions are going to take the longest to cook. Add cooking oil to a large skillet on medium-high heat. Make sure the oil is hot before adding in the batch of onions. Cook for about 30 minutes until it caramelizes and crisps. Make sure to salt the onions as they cook.
- While onions are cooking, rinse the lentils then cook in a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes until they are parboiled. Salt the water.
- While the lentils cook, soak the rice. This isn't necessary but it will make the cooking time faster. Long grain rice is recommended for this recipe but Basmati is also an option both of which Riceland Foods has.
- Set the lentils aside once they are 3/4 of the way cooked. Drain the lentils of its liquid if any is left. If there is liquid left, factor that into the cooking liquid for the rice.
- Drain the rice and season it with cumin, seven spice, oil, and salt. You will need 3 cups of cooking liquid altogether. Bring to boil then simmer for about 15 minutes then add in the lentils that were set aside and mix together for the remaining 5 minutes of cooking the rice.
- At this point, all the major elements should be cooked.
- Now, make the sauce and salad to go alongside the dish. For the salsa, just add all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse a few times. For the yogurt salad, just mix all the ingredients together.
- To plate, add the rice and lentils to a platter or plate then top it off with the caramelized crispy onions which can be garnished with some fresh parsley. Serve with salsa and yogurt salad or a simple fresh salad of choice!
Recipe and images courtesy of ‘Fufu’s Kitchen’