Recipe: Mujadarrah with Peas and Greek Yogurt

This is one of my favorite recipes. It is healthy, makes great leftovers, and my 2 and 5 year old gobble it up!

Mujadarrah is a Lebanese/ Egyptian dish- legend has it, it was the “savory” that Esau sold his birthright for. Who knows if that’s actually the case, but we certainly love it.

From start to finish, including prep (chopping onions, washing and sorting lentils), it takes about 1 1/2 hours. Most of that is not active. I just like to know what time I need to “start” cooking to get things ready by a certain time, and most recipes I’ve found to be very unrealistic about how long they take!

Recipe: Mujadarrah with Peas and Greek Yogurt

Serves: 4-6 people, with possible leftovers

Time, including prep: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients:

3/4 cup olive oil
3-6 large white or yellow onions, sliced into rings
2 2/3 c uncooked brown lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 1/2 c uncooked long-grain white rice
2 T salt
2 T cumin, ground
2-3 cloves minced garlic
about 3 tsp ground cinnamon
water
serve with: plain greek yogurt (maybe 1/2 c), and steamed or microwaved plain green peas

Slice your 3-6 onions into thinnish rings. Put a large sauté pan on the stove. Turn on the heat to medium and add 3/4 c olive oil. When it starts to look warm (not too hot!), add the onions. Sprinkle with the cinnamon, and stir. You want it to be simmering, but not burning them, so turn down the heat to a medium-low once it gets going. Stir it every once in awhile while you’re cooking. You don’t want it to burn- you want it to carmelize (*alternatively, you can carmelize onions in a slow-cooker during the day before cooking this, then add them at the end. I’ve never done it, but I’ve read about it, so you can try it and let me know!) Keep an eye on your onions- when they’re soft and squishy, with a dark-brown tinge, you can turn them off. It will take most of your cooking time. Continue on with the other steps while the onions cook.
Put 8 c water in a large pot (larger than 6qt), and turn stove onto high. While it’s heating, sort and rinse 2 2/3 c uncooked brown lentils. Place lentils in the pot, and cover, keeping an eye on it as you wait for it to come to a boil (peek every few minutes). Once it’s boiling, reduce heat to simmer, and set timer for 15 minutes.
While you wait, get the peas started. I recommend cooking frozen peas in a pasta pot- you put water in the lower section, and peas in the top section. We will eat 2lb peas in our family of 4, but make how much you think your family will eat. Frozen peas can also be boiled, or cooked in the microwave using the instructions on the bag.
After the 15 minute timer goes off, add 1 1/2 c rice and 3 1/2 c water, 2 tablespoons cumin, and 2 tablespoons salt. Add minced garlic- you can either precisely measure the garlic, or stick a knife in a jar of pre-minced garlic, and just put a good wallop of it in. Bring to a boil, covered, then simmer 15 minutes.
Check it. Depending on your stove, it may need another 5-7 minutes. You want it to be moist, but without any water on the top of the rice and lentils.
Once it looks done, turn off the heat, and let it sit for maybe 7 minutes while you set the table. Mix in 1/2 of the carmelized onions, and put the other half on top (these are the best part!) Serve with peas on the side, and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt on top.

(This is adapted and modified from a recipe I found on allrecipes.com several years ago. I think it’s this one.)