Mujadara - Lentils and Rice with Deeply Fried Onions
Three ingredients, and the third one makes the dish: 400 g of onions fried until they are almost black. Their bitterness is the counterweight to the mild lentils.
Why this dish is good for you
Lentils and rice together form a complete protein - a pattern that arose independently in many of the world's poorer kitchens long before anyone knew what an amino acid was. At 17.6 g of protein and 8.4 g of fibre per serving, mujadara is one of the cheapest complete meals there is.
Ingredients
- Green lentils(weighed dry)200 g
- Rice(weighed raw, washed)200 g
- Onion(in fine half-rings - the quantity is not a typo)400 g
- Olive oil50 g
- Cumin(ground)4 g
- Salt6 g
Method
- 1
Simmer the lentils in plenty of water for 20 minutes until almost tender. Drain and keep the cooking water.
- 2
Slice the onions into fine half-rings. Fry them in the olive oil over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring only occasionally.
- 3
They pass through golden, then dark brown, and end up almost black. Lift out two thirds and drain on kitchen paper - they crisp as they cool.
- 4
Add the cumin to the remaining third in the pan, then the lentils and the washed rice.
- 5
Top up with 500 ml of the lentil water, salt, bring to the boil and steam covered over the lowest heat for 15 minutes.
- 6
Turn off the heat, slide a cloth under the lid and let it stand for ten minutes.
- 7
Fluff with a fork and pile the cooled onions on top. Cold yoghurt and a salad go well with it.
🧅 Warum die Zwiebeln fast verbrennen dürfen
In a long fry, the Maillard reaction and caramelisation run side by side. At the end, bitter compounds form that balance the onion's own sugar. Stopping at golden gives you sweet onions - and a mujadara with nothing to push against.
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