Mujadarra

This is one of my favorite dishes, and it hails from the Middle East. It’s very simple fare, but really does not taste simple. As much as I love this, I usually forget to make it when I’m seeking comfort food. When I last made it, Child Tester was beside herself because she felt I had been holding out on her. And I guess she’s right, since it’d been so long since I’d last made it that she didn’t remember the dish!

So y’all know, the most common way to make this is with rice. That said, the traditional and usually not done anymore way is bulghur wheat. I prefer it with wheat, but typically make it with rice. I recommend doing a lot more onions than the recipe calls for, because if you can stop yourself from eating them all, they freeze beautifully and save you time for future batches (or other things that call for caramelized onions). This whole dish costs about $2, though, and will generally feed 4 people.

Here’s what you’ll need

minimum 1 onion per person, plus an extra onion
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup lentils (I use black or puy, but you’d see this more frequently made with the common types)
1 cup rice
3 cups water
1/4 cup each: chopped fresh mint, chopped fresh parsley
1-2 lemons

Slice the onions into rings or half moons, then heat a pan to medium and add your oil with half the salt. What I like to do is to fry the onions over medium heat until they’re barely starting to brown, then to turn the heat down incrementally as they caramelize. I’ve done this in as little as 1 hr, but usually it takes me 2 if I forget to start with higher heat. You can also do this in the crock pot either while you’re at work/doing other things or the night before. I haven’t used this method YET (bad memory), but I hear really great things about it from friends who have.

NOTE: sometimes I more lightly fry an extra onion so I have more onion-y textures in my bowl. That’s reflected in the picture of the meal.

Like these. Y’all wish I’d made more of them like I do, huh?

Once the onions are done, put the lentils and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat. Simmer the lentils for 15 minutes, then add the rice, the rest of the salt and some of the cooked onions. Cover again and cook another 15 minutes, then turn off the heat and let it all hang out for 10 or 20 minutes. Dish it up and top each with a lot of delicious onions, then some mint and parsley. Add a quarter or half of the lemon each dish to squeeze over the food. Serves 4.