Mujadara, a simple and comforting dish made with rice and lentils, is popular all throughout the Arab world. The first recorded recipe can be found in a cookbook from Iraq that was published in 1226, though the origins of the dish stretch back much further than that. It is one of my favorite vegetarian side dishes, a healthy and filling complete protein.
I first learned this recipe from a Sephardic Jewish family from India. The Ashtamker family moved to Israel not long after it became a nation, then made their way to America about 20 years ago. They have shared many special meals with us over the years. I love their family recipes, but most of them require a trip to the local Middle Eastern or Indian markets—the spices and ingredients can’t always be found in a regular grocery store. Exploring those tiny markets can be fun, but when I share a recipe with you I try to keep things simple, using ingredients that can be found at your local supermarket.
Of all the dishes the Ashtamker family has taught us, the one I make most often is their version of mujadara. This dish is popular throughout the Middle East and Arab world. It is frequently eaten by Jewish families because it’s kosher, dairy free, and very inexpensive to prepare. The ingredients should all be easy to find at your local market.
While it is typically served as a side dish, I often eat mujadara as an entrée when I’m in the mood for a filling vegetarian meal. Be sure to follow the directions as written, it will make your mujadara nice and fluffy.
If you are eating this as an entrée and you don’t mind making it a dairy meal, try topping it with some Greek yogurt along with the caramelized onions—it is simple and delicious!
One note— you might notice that I’ve added a “Gluten Free” category to my blog. I hope this is helpful to those of you who are avoiding gluten! If it is, leave me a comment and let me know. 🙂
To learn more about the Jewish community in India, click here.
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Mujadara
Ingredients
- 2 cups white basmati rice
- 1 cup brown lentils
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 strips lemon peel, about 2 inches long each
- 2 large onions, peeled and sliced thin
- 1/2 tsp salt, more or less to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, more or less to taste
Instructions
- Rinse and sort the rice, removing any small stones or impurities, then cover it with cold water. Let it soak at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
- Rinse and sort the lentils, removing any small stones or impurities.
- In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the lentils. Reduce heat to medium and simmer the lentils till they are tender, but not soft or mushy (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat and drain, then rinse in a colander with cold water.
- Drain and rinse the soaked rice.
- In a large pot, heat 1/4 cup olive oil till hot enough for frying. Add the lentils to the pot along with the cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the drained rice to the pot and stir. Turn heat to low.
- Rinse out the saucepan where you cooked the lentils and pour in 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then carefully pour it over the lentils and rice. Stir, raise heat on the large pot to medium high. Add bay leaves and lemon peel to the pot and bring water to a boil. Cover the pot. Reduce heat and let the rice steam at a low simmer for 20 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed.
- Turn off the rice, uncover the pot, fluff the rice with a fork, cover the pot again and let it sit for another 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat up 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Fry the onion slices over medium heat until they are soft and nicely caramelized. Season with salt and pepper.
- Fluff the mujadra with a fork again. Serve topped with the caramelized onions. If you like the flavor of butter, you can substitute melted butter for olive oil. If you do this, please keep in mind that the dish becomes dairy rather than parve.
Nutrition
I love the philosophy here of learning the origins of recipes and making any modifications thereafter. I am not, as of yet, a good cook and using authentic recipes may help! These recipes look healthy and the historical aspects keep it interesting too.
Delicious and filling! We are always on the lookout for vegan meals. We played around a bit–a little hot sauce for my husband, a little Za’atar for me, a little garlic for both. Next time doubling it tripling the onions.
Wow this is so surprising. I’m Pakistani and we eat this too but we call it Khitchri. I don’t add lemon peels though and we love to eat it with spicy sauce (Chutney: made with corriander, garlic, green peppers, tamarind and cumin) or with mango/lemon pickle.
My dad eats it with tomato and cucumber salad. and my sister with yogurt.
do you think this will taste ok with quinoa instead of rice for passover? trying to think of ideas for vegetarian with no dairy.
Try this: https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/quinoa-mujadara/
So delicious! This is probably a stupid question, but can you freeze this? My husband and I aren’t eating it fast enough and don’t want it to go to waste if at all possible!
Yes you can!
I really liked this, but I agree it was lacking a bit of flavour at the end. I had no lemon so I cooked the rice with orange peel. I also added a decent amount of extra cumin, salt, pepper, juice of half an orange and 500g of lamb mince. Next time I will cook the rice with lots of garlic and also add more vegetables.
The Persian variation that I’m used to calls for dill, a lunch of saffron water and beef crumbles. You may even used dried lime
I loved this dish guys so I really absolutely recommend this for everyone and I love the way u put a gluten free recipe so good on you. I’m gluten free as well so thank you so much for helping me!✌️
Really liked this! Followed the recipe exactly, but felt it needed a little *something* at the end. Will definitely pick up some Greek or Lebanese yogurt for the next time I make it. It felt like a nice base recipe that everyone in my family could sort of take in their own direction…son added soy sauce and husband added Siracha…daughter and I liked just as was. Looking forward to trying again with yogurt….
Delicious! I needed a good pantry-magnet recipe after rabbinical school classes in here Jerusalem, and this one delivered.
I am glad that I found your website. Thank you so much for all your efforts here!
Would you please include the ingredients and amounts typical of the regional recipes you feature, as well as your thoughtful adaptations?
We like exploring ethnic cuisines, so we feature less common fruits, nuts, vegetables and flavor combinations in our meals whenever we can. We are fortunate to be able to grow some of our favorites.
Two of our next experiments will be growing, harvesting, and using our own fenugreek and rau ram.
Wonderful recipe! I’m Syrian and we eat this dish as well. The bay leaves were a great addition. I didn’t have lemons on hand so I had to use orange peel instead… I hope that’s okay! Definitely using lemon peel next time though.
I’miss glad to have found your site. I made Mujadara tonight using your recipe, it turned out really well! Thank you for sharing.
I haven’t made your recipe yet, but look forward to trying it. My mother used to make this ( her parents were born on Syria) and it was my favourite. She was a great cook, but couldn’t give me the details of how to make it…thanks for the specific because when I’ve made it the rice came out a bit too soft.
Thank you so much for starting a GF tab. I am celiac, and while I enjoy reading through recipes, sometimes I just need to find something – QUICK!!!!! This sounds delicious – I plan to make a pot this week and can’t wait to enjoy it.
I have made this several times and it is delicious!
One of my favourite Arabic dishes!
I am trying out a GF diet for the new year and this will be one of the first things I make! I’m hoping to find recipes that my whole family can enjoy, even though I will be doing the GF thing on my own. It looks fantastic, thanks!
Looking forward to making this! LOVE your gluten free recipes—please keep them coming. I chose to avoid gluten due to painfully inflamed knees & ankles. Now that I eat zero gluten, my knees feel back to normal. I can jump rope in my work-out gain! I found you through Patti Londre & the wonderful Thanksgiving meal that the food bloggers made.