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.
Why does this recipe only call for 2.5 cups of liquid for 2 cups total rice+lentils? Are the onions supposed to help or am I missing something else? Mine needed more liquid about 10 minutes in.
I agree, 2.5 cups is way not enough liquid, and even when I increased the broth I still had trouble with the lentils not cooking properly because as the rice absorbs the broth it leaves the lentils to sit on top and not be submerged in the liquid anymore. I’d then need to add more liquid and cook longer, making the rice turn to mush.
I’ve had the most success by pre-cooking the lentils for 20 minutes in water and draining them, then put them in with the rice/onions/spices and 2 cups of broth only, and cook 25 minutes. I actually get a good texture on the rice this way, and although the lentils were cooked in plain water, they absorb the rest of the flavor when it simmers all together.
This was amazing! Used a wild rice blend that I soaked for 3 hours & soaked the lentils overnight. Served on a bed of greens lightly tossed with fig balsamic and lemon olive oil. Added some grape tomatoes to the platter as well. Beautiful & tasted even better than it looked. Thank you! Have tried Mujaddara recipes in the past and failed. This was enjoyed greatly by everyone at the table. Thank you!
A Syrian friend taught me to make this, but she did not use cloves. Instead about 6 large cloves of garlic and a lot more olive oil (up to 8tbsp full – might need to increase the oil gradually because as I learnt, if you’re not used to it, it can have an adverse effect on your bowels.
I have never tried this dish before. It sounds intriguing and I have all the ingredients except white rice.
Can I use brown rice? I have brown long grain, short grain and basmati.
In the process of making the Mediterranean lentil salad right now!
The cooking time for brown rice is so much longer than it is for lentils that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to cook them together, like I did with the white rice.
Whole family loved it. Shared the recipe with several ppl. Simple and delisious.
I always cook it with Basmati rice. But be careful with the quantity of water. It should be less than what is used for Jasmin rice.
This came out really well but I always love mujaddara.
I just wanted to share a more expensive (but still relatively cheap) but quick way to make this. To speed up the onion time, I use more oil and a little higher temperature to cook the onions. I can usually cook them down in about 30 minutes this way. I also use pre-made lentils from Trader Joes and cook the rice while the onions are cooking. After the onions are finished, I drain them and pat them dry. Throw lentils with spices in the pan I used for onions and cook over medium to medium low for 2-3 minutes. Add rice and cook for another minute or so. Should be plenty hot.
All in all takes about 40 minutes which is much faster. Downside is you’re adding about 50 cents a meal to your cost. It’s also not QUITE as good as taking your time.
I do use a slightly different spice mixture usually. I use 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp of coriander, 1 tsp of cinnamon 1/2 tsp cayenne, and salt to taste.
And like others I also use a yogurt sauce but mine is just lemon, salt and garlic.
Anyway, I love your site and all the recipes you share. Very much appreciated.
We had this tonight. It was ok. It was rather plain and needed salt. I added Himalayan salt to it and it tasted much better. I will make things Aidan but with different spices and add salt to it.
I will make this recipe different but add different spices and salt to it. It needed at least 4 cups of broth. I used homemade chicken broth. I corrected this as the first version of my reply didn’t make sense.
I’ve made this many times. I love it topped with really chunky tzaziki sauce and served with a side of cinnamon-spiced iced tea. Oh. I’ve also taken to swapping out the rice for quinoa.
Okay I commented three years ago and this is still one of my go-to dishes. I always do chores while the onions are caramelizing, it’s perfect. I am so excited about these additions: 1) In 8oz carton of plain yogurt, throw: 1tsp ground cinnamon, 1tsp ground coriander, couple shakes of cayenne, squeeze of lemon juice, big pinch of salt. Mix it up right in the cup. 2) While you’re caramelizing onions, soak lentils in just enough water to submerge, it’ll cut down cooking time. 3) Also while caramelizing, throw 1/2 shredded red cabbage in a bowl with a few big squirts of lemon juice and a very generous amount of salt (you’re making brine/quick pickles, so really go for it). Give that sucker a good toss every so often. Would probably work with carrots too. 5) Butter in yer onions. Probably 2 tbsp? Dang fam. 4) I’m still all about that Ras al Hanout, I throw in probably 1.5 tbsp BEFORE separating out the caramelized onions. Toast the spices, mix it up, separate your topping-onions, then throw in rice/lentils/broth. 5) I go with 3 cups of broth–or more specifically, 3 cups water with one heaping tablespoon of Better Than Boullion.
FINALLY: Serve with onions on top, a dollop of spiced yogurt on one side and a gorgeous bunch of pickled cabbage on the other. THIS RECIPE IS LIFE
I love those additions! Thank you for sharing!
We made a yogurt sauce (just lemon, salt and pepper) and the pickled cabbage – SO DELICIOUS! I used the rest of the cabbage in a salad and it was amazing. This is going to become a regular part of my life! Thank you for sharing!
This was absolutely delicious! And a lot like other mujaddara I’ve had. Be patient on the onions, it’s worth it.
I added a little cinnamon, based on prior comments. I think next time I’d add some ground coriander too!
I used small green lentils and the cook time was fine. I did add a little more broth, with heat off and lid on, at the end to give this a bit more moisture.
Just cooked this for dinner for the first time and I couldn’t be happier about it! I pre-cooked green lentils in my pressure cooker and used brown rice instead of jasmin and it still worked perfectly. An amazing heart-warming dish.
I’m surprised at the good reviews. This was a 1/5 for me. Just not a good flavor. Followed the recipe exactly and am definitely throwing it out.
This is so simple yet SO delicious. My son’s daycare lady is Lebanese and turns out she makes this all the time for the kids and my son loves it! I pair this with whole wheat Lebanese pita bread (Hanna’s – it has no preservatives or additives) as well as a salad I make with cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, onions and the dressing is sour cream, salt, pepper and stevia (can use sugar of course, but why bother?) Thank you Beth for another winner!
I forgot to mention that I use whole cloves and whole all spice instead. Just seems to be more to my taste this way :)
Oh man, that’s way too much clove. My mouth feels so weird now. I’d half it down to 1/8 next time.
Here is a quick way to brown and caramelize the onions that I found! It worked well and cut down prep time! https://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/a-quick-way-to-caramelize-onions/
The taste was delicious, but I would highly recommend cooking the lentils first at least halfway because the rice and lentils have different cooking times (I ended up with mushy rice to get the lentils cooked right). Mine also needed more liquid to cook.
But I’ll definitely make this again with some adjustments!
Maybe brown rice would work better for you; it has a longer cook time.
Omg! This is amazing ❤️
I love this! I learned to make this about 40yrs ago from my Egyptian neighbor. She also mixed fried onions into the 1c rice n 1c lentils, 2tbls cumin, 1tsp gr. coriander, salt and 6-8 pieces of mistika. That mistika is a must! She topped the whole shebang with some spicy tomato sauce/vinegar/hot pepper concoction n then the dark crispy fried onions.
Sounds amazing!!