Mejadra – Lentils and Rice with Crispy Onion
Years ago, there was an amazing, tiny Middle Eastern takeout joint near where I worked that sold an array of delicious dishes, that they rotated on their chalkboard menu depending on day of the week.
My absolute favorite was an aromatic rice and lentil dish, topped with crispy fried onions called mejadra that was on their Thursday rotation.
Sadly, they closed when the building they were in was sold and torn down to make way for a huge condo development.
Fortunately, it’s easy to make it at home, the onions do take a little time to get to that sweet, crispiness, but it is totally worth the effort!
Mejadra is pure Middle Eastern comfort food. It is a simple aromatic flavourful dish that is great on its own for lunch or as a side. It’s delicious warm, or at room temperature making it a great option to bring to a potluck.
This recipe for mejadra is taken from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s excellent cookbook Jerusalem. I love that their recipe includes allspice and cinnamon along with the more typical addition cumin, coriander, and turmeric used to flavour the dish.
If you don’t have a copy of their cookbook Jerusalem, you should definitely check it out. Mejadra is just one of many tasty, inspiring recipes in the book.
Ingredients
- 250 ml sunflower oil
- 4 medium onions thinly sliced
- 250 grams green or brown lentils
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1½ tbsp coriander seeds
- 200 grams basmati rice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1½ tsp ground allspice
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp sugar
- Salt and black pepper
- 350 ml water
Instructions
- Place the lentils in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until the lentils have softened but still have a little bite. Drain into a colander.
- Peel the onions and slice thinly. sprinkle with the flour and 1 tsp of the salt. using your hands gently mix until the onion is evenly coated with the flour. Heat the sunflower oil in a medium-size heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Test the oil by throwing in a piece of the onion, it should sizzle vigorously. reduce the heat to medium -high and, carefully add a third of the sliced onion. Fry for five to seven minutes, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until the onion takes on a nice, golden-brown colour and turns crispy. Use the spoon to transfer the onion to a colander and sprinkle with a little more salt salt. Repeat with two more batches of onion, adding more oil if needed.
- Wipe clean the saucepan in which you fried the onion and drop in the cumin and coriander seeds. Place over a medium heat and toast the seeds for a minute or two, until they release those distinctive aromas. Add the rice, olive oil, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, half a teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper. Stir to coat the rice with oil, then add the cooked lentils and water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on very low heat for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, lift off the lid and cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Seal tightly with the lid and set aside for 10 minutes. Finally, tip the rice and lentils into a large mixing bowl. Add half the fried onion and stir gently with a fork. Pile up in a shallow serving bowl and top with the rest of the onion.