mujaddarah!

Last week I spent a few days at my sister’s, and as is my wont we visited those Armenian markets in Watertown. This time I stumbled over a prepared mixture of lentils and rice. That may sound pedestrian, but it was a lovely side/salady addition to lunch and dinner! The container said “mujaddarah”.

I don’t know it that is mu like moo, or mu like mud but either way is was delicious. So, I went online and found a bunch of recipes for it. The following is what I did.

First understand that in all the recipes I looked at the only difference really was in the spices and what I’d call add-ons. They all seemed to agree that the basics are simply lentils, rice, and caramelized onions. Mmmmmm!

Most of the recipes said to cook the rice, then the lentils, then the onions, and combine. I’m lazy so I cooked the rice and lentils together and it worked fine. You, of course, can do as you wish but in my world, one less pan to wash is a good thing!

The version I bought at the market was vegetarian, the version I made was not at the end. Read on and I will explain, I promise. Both were (I say were because I’ve finished what I made already!) tasty and very satisfying. And both were gluten-free. So…

The hardest, or at least most time intensive part is making the caramelized onions. This is not actually difficult, it just takes patience and a heavy-bottomed pan. If they burn or if you try to rush them, well, just remember I warned you!

There are a ton of sites that will tell you how to do this, but I just put some olive oil in a heavy skillet, cut the onions fairly thin, set the heat to medium-low and let them sort of melt. I stirred them every once in a while, maybe every 5 minutes or so, but mostly I left them alone. It took maybe half an hour or more but they didn’t burn and the flavor was divine. Its worth the work!

So, here’s my overly simple recipe for a fine side or main:

Mujaddarah

2 medium white onions
1 cup rice
1 cup lentils*
2 T butter and 2 T olive oil
water (or stock)
salt, pepper
ground allspice
(1/2 lb ground lamb optional)

In one pan, caramelize the onions. When they are done, add about 2 tsp of ground allspice, stir in, remove from heat and set aside.

In a good sized pot, cook together the rice and lentils. I started mine off as if for a pilaf, meaning I browned the rice in the butter and oil before adding the lentils and water. I used those little French green lentils because I like their texture – they don’t turn mushy. You can use whatever kind you like, of course. Add just enough water to cook the rice and lentils (this will depend on the kind of each, of course) and keep an eye out that it doesn’t scorch.

When the onions and lentil-rice mixture are done, combine them and add salt and pepper to taste. That’s it for the vegetarian version. If you want to add lamb, simply cook the ground lamb and add it to the melange.

This is not a beautiful dish, but it is hearty, works cold or hot, is good for you, and couldn’t be much simpler. All in all it took less than an hour. I like it by itself but it is also good with plain yogurt mixed in I think. So… enjoy.

By the way, right before spending time at my sister’s I was on vacation. More about that coming soon but here’s a hint:

need I say more?

Much more about the vacation next time I promise! Mmmmmm!!

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