Rice and Lentils (Mejadra)
Category	Middle Eastern recipes
Servings	3-4
Time	30 minutes
Difficulty

Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes

| Palestinian Cuisine

Extremely simple to cook, this dish is a fundamental component of Middle Eastern cuisine. It provides carbohydrates, proteins, and a full stomach. It also tastes great.

When cooked with rice, this recipe is gluten-free. It isn't gluten free when cooked with bulgur (wheat).

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice (uncooked) or bulgur
• 1 cup dry lentils
• 1 medium sized onion
• 4 cups water
• olive oil
• salt
• baharat
• cumin
• cardamom

Procedure

The more common recipe uses rice. Bulgur can be substituted for rice, with the exact same procedure.

1. Fry the lentils in oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously, until the first beans show signs of scorching.
2. Add salt, baharat, cumin, ground cardamom.
3. Add 2 cups water and cover. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed by the lentils.
4. Fry the rice in oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously, until the grains change colour.
5. Add salt, black or white pepper, and ground cardamom.
6. Add 2 cups water and cover. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer. After 5 minutes turn the heat off, and leave standing for another 10 minutes.
7. Cut the onion into thin strips (about ½ cm x 4 cm).
8. Fry the onion in mixed olive oil until crisp and deeply golden brown (this may take a while but will result in much fuller flavor).
9. Mix the lentils and rice, and top with the fried onion.
10. Add 2 parts lentils to 1 part rice for a moist consistency.