I discovered Mujaddara probably about ten years ago at this little Lebanese lunch spot in Baton Rouge, called Serop’s Express. I didn’t know what the brown mixture was, but I ordered on a whim and I was instantly in love. The soft grain-like mixture was earthy, flavorful, and had an intoxicating blend of seasoning. I immediately googled the recipe, determined to make it myself.
(I added chopped cilantro for garnish and to add color to the photo. Cilantro is not needed for the recipe.)
What is Mujaddara?
Mujaddara is a simple, filling, and flavorful Arabic dish made with rice, lentils, and caramelized onions. There are many ways to make it, with each region and family having their own spin, but the common thread among them all is rice, lentils, and caramelized onions. However it’s made, though, it’s usually extremely delicious, filling, and very inexpensive. So, in other words, it’s definitely a budget byte!
My Interpretation
Despite trying several times over the past ten years, I’ve never been able to replicate Serop’s magic recipe. I’ve even had friends question members of the restaurant’s family about what’s in the dish, only to get the answer “rice and lentils”. *sigh* I’ve had mujaddara at other Lebanese restaurants, but none of them compare to what Serop’s serves up. I don’t know what kind of magic they put in there, but it’s way more delicious and intoxicating than just rice and lentils.
The version I finally settled on is as close to Serop’s as I can get. It has plenty of caramelized onions to give it a deep, rich flavor, vegetable broth to make the flavor a little more complex, and a healthy dose of aromatic spices to keep things interesting. This recipe makes a big batch of about 6 cups, but this recipe will freeze very well, so any leftovers can be saved for later.
What to Serve with Mujaddara
I’ve been eating mine plain in a bowl, but it goes great with sautéed greens, roasted vegetables, or even topped with a fried egg. It’s kind of one of those all-purpose dishes that can be eaten at almost every meal. No wonder it’s been around so long!
Try the Authentic Version
As you can see, I’ve played around with the basic mujaddara concept quite a bit here, so you may want to try an authentic recipe first. Plus, you’ll probably get to learn a lot about this dish’s rich culture and history while you’re at it. Here are some great authentic mujaddara recipes to try:
- Lebanese Mujadara from Feel Good Foodie
- Mujadara from The Mediterranean Dish
- Mujadara from Cardamom and Tea
Mujaddara
Servings 6 (1 cup each)Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 4 yellow onions ($1.59)
- 1 tsp cumin ($0.10)
- 1 tsp allspice ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves ($0.03)
- 2.5 cups vegetable broth ($0.30)
- 1 cup long grain white rice (or jasmine) ($0.33)
- 1 cup brown lentils ($0.68)
Instructions
- Thinly slice the onions and add them to a large pot with the olive oil. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently for one hour, or until they are deeply golden brown, sticky, and caramelized. Remove half of the onions and set them aside to top the pilaf after cooking
- Add the cumin, allspice, and cloves to the pot with the remaining onions. Sauté for about one minute to lightly toast the spices. Add the vegetable broth and stir the pot well to dissolve any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the rice and lentils to the pot. Cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat up to high. Allow the contents to come up to a boil. As soon as it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest for 10 minutes without removing the lid. Finally, remove the lid, fluff with a spoon or fork, then top with the reserved caramelized onions. Serve warm.
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Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Mujaddara – Step by Step Photos
This recipe starts with caramelized onions, which lend a lot of flavor to the final pilaf. They take a long time to make, but are well worth it. Begin by thinly slicing four yellow onions and adding them to a large pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Cook the onions over low heat, stirring frequently for one hour. You can stir less frequently at first, but will need to keep a closer eye towards the end. I did chores around the house during the first part, remembering to walk back into the kitchen every few minutes to stir.
After an hour or so, they should be deep golden brown, sticky, and caramelized. If you don’t like the stringy texture of caramelized onions, you can dice them instead. They will probably cook a little faster when diced and will blend into the pilaf a little better.
Remove half of the onions and set them aside to top the pilaf later. Add 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp allspice, and 1/4 tsp ground cloves to the pot. Sauté the spices with the remaining onions for about a minute. This toasts the spices slightly, which enhances their flavor.
Add 2.5 cups of vegetable broth to the pot and stir to dissolve any browned bits off the bottom. All that browned onion sugar will help give a lot of flavor to the Mujaddara.
Add one cup of long-grain white rice and one cup of brown lentils to the pot. I used jasmine rice because it’s my favorite, but you can use plain white rice if desired. You’ll want to use brown lentils and not French or “green” lentils because those take twice as long to cook as brown lentils. If unsure, check the packaging to see the recommended cooking time. It should be 20-30 minutes.
Add the rice and lentils to the pot, place a lid on top, then turn the heat up to high. Let the pot come to a full boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn it down to low heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest with the lid in place for 10 more minutes. After the ten-minute rest, you’ll have this (see photo above).
Fluff it up with a spoon or fork (looks more appetizing now, for sure). The rice and lentils should have absorbed all the broth and be soft and tender all the way through.
Top the Mujaddara with the reserved caramelized onions and serve! YUM.
Is there any way that i can make this dish spicer? I made it and it was very delicious but i was wondering what other veggies or spices i could add to it?
When you say spicy, do you mean hot? If so, you can add some cayenne pepper to the spice mix. If you’re looking for more flavor in general, I would try increasing the current spices and the salt. Sometimes just a pinch or two more of salt can really make the flavors POP.
I wasn’t successful making this as written, my lentils were still crunchy and the mix burned to the bottom of the pot. Might have something to do with the fact that I used calrose rice. However the flavor was really good.
I then made it by cooking the lentils and the rice separately (halved the cooked onions into each respective pot) and then mixed them together at the end, which was a winner. I also used the rice cooker for the rice for ultimate convenience.
Although this makes a DELICIOUS vegan dish, I think it would be great with a dollop of yoghurt as well!
If you eat it with a yogurt sauce: yogurt, wee bit of salt, garlic, and some kind of green herb (dill, coriander, mint whatever) It tastes great! Also, I don’t have any allspice so an alternative I found that tastes good (no idea if it’s the same taste as allspice though) Is equal parts cinnamon, ground clove and cinnamon.
I make this all the time however I use about 2.5 tsp of a spice blend called “Garam Masala” instead of the spices you listed. Its amazing. I especially love it with dill pickles and humus on the side!
I know it says this serves 6, but just so everyone knows, it’s too delicious to share with that many people.
(Thanks for all these delicious vegan recipes, it’s making my life so much easier!!)
This looks delicious! I could only find Pardina lentils here in Spain, no cloves, and no allspice… For the spices I guess I’ll try the Ras El Hanout I bought in Morocco, but what do you suggest I do with for the lentils? The package includes no directions whatsoever, has anyone heard of it and does it cook in 20 to 30 minutes like brown lentils? Should I try cooking them separately? Thank you, I can’t wait to try the proper recipe when I go back home but I’m hoping I’ll make a reasonable substitute with a few tweaks while I’m here :)
Unfortunately I’ve never heard of that type of lentil! :( I think your best bet might be Google.
i was wondering if I could substitute with brown rice, and if so, do you know the changes I would need to make to the recipe for that to work?
The recipe would have to change quite a bit because brown rice requires more liquid and a longer cooking time. It’s too difficult to guess without testing the methods.
Try adding nutmeg…
Hi Beth,
I love caramelizing these onions– my first time! Unfortunately, however, the same thing happened with this recipe as when I tried to make the Tomato Herb Rice with White Beans and Spinach– not enough liquid, so it dried out and ended up burning. I don’t think there was ever enough to even reach a boil. Now I know to modify in the future, but can you think of any reason why a few of us seem to be experiencing this issue? Thanks! Love your website! Hello from the 9th ward.
I wonder why this is happening to only some people. What type of skillet or pot are you using? Does it have a tight fitting lid? I find that having really thick and heavy cookware makes a HUGE difference.
What a great platform for caramelized onions! The spice blend is not one I would ever have come up with on my own.
After reading the comments, I decided to take the easy way out and caramelize onions overnight in a slow cooker. I then warmed them with a little oil, and proceeded as directed, except I par-boiled the lentils (15 minutes), drained, and added with the rice. Less vegetable broth, too…just enough for the rice. Overall, it needed salt, but boy, is this good! I also included the yogurt many mentioned. Nice contrast.
What a rich, earthy flavor! I amended the recipe by adding about 1 Tbsp. of soy sauce to the simmering rice and lentils (in an attempt at getting some umami in there), then topped each serving with a yogurt sauce–shredded cucumber, plain yogurt, dill, and a pinch each of cumin and salt. The tart, cool freshness of the yogurt complemented the lentils and rice quite nicely.
Thanks!
I made this for my family; I doubled the recipe. They absolutely loved it.
I didn’t use so much of the seasonings in the recipe. I only used pinches of the glove and allspice. I used the Cumin as mentioned. I used some Turmeric, Cinnamon, Garlic and added some craisins.
The brown lentils were still crunchy after the cooking time. Next time I will probably soak the lentils in water before cooking.
I will definitely make this again. The family loved it.
The tastes here were great! I didn’t have cloves or allspice so I used some nutmeg, cinnamon and turmeric. I added garlic at he last minute and it tastes fantastic! It tastes so fantastic I’m going to eat it despite the lentils being underdone after a half hour while the rice was all done. I topped it with sauteed spinach and it was perfect. It would be really great with a fried egg!
This is the first recipe I’ve tried from this site and I’m sold!
I just made this! I was a little worried about the rice and lentils not cooking through, but it turned out perfectly! I did add a tiny bit of extra water, but I don’t think it was all that necessary. The onions were also caramelized and lovely after an hour, so I would definitely say that this recipe was a success for me. Topped with a fried egg, it was satisfying and filling. Will definitely make it again!
I really wanted to like this.. The onions took almost 3 hours to caramelize, and then when I cooked the lentils they were still crunchy after 30 minutes. I had to add in more water and the whole thing turned to mush.. This was so frustrating. :( I had to throw the whole thing out.