Mujaddara – Vegan

If you’re fasting or follow a vegetarian/vegan diet, this dish will surely delight your taste buds. It’s an aromatic Eastern specialty featuring lentils and rice as the main ingredients, with caramelized onions adding the perfect finishing touch, like the cherry on top!

This dish is delicious on its own or can be served as a flavorful side to various grilled meats or other meat dishes.

It pairs wonderfully with yogurt, which enhances the flavor and balances the texture, since both lentils and rice tend to be a bit dry after cooking. I highly recommend serving it this way for the best experience.

Ingredients:

• 5 medium-large onions
• 1½ cups green lentils
• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup olive oil (to be used in about 3 portions)
• Spice mix consisting of: 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon + 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds + 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Rinse the lentils in a pot and bring them to a boil. Cook for about 30–40 minutes until they are al dente—be careful not to overcook them. Check regularly to ensure they maintain a firm texture. The cooking time may vary depending on how dry the lentils are.

Preparation:
Peel and slice the onions into halves, then cut them into even slices. Place the sliced onions in a deep bowl and add all the flour. Mix well until every piece of onion is coated evenly with flour.

Heat half of the olive oil in a large wok or frying pan. Once the oil is hot, add the floured onions and sauté them, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until they turn golden and crispy. Be careful not to burn them.

Using a spatula, transfer the onions onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil. Sprinkle with salt and let them drain completely.

Avoid overcrowding the pan with onions to ensure they cook evenly and can be stirred easily. If your pan isn’t large enough, cook the onions in two batches. For the second batch, clean the pan to remove any burnt flour and oil residue from the first batch before adding more oil.

After finishing with the onions, clean the pan by washing or wiping it, then place it back on the heat. Add the spice mix to the dry pan and toast the spices for about 30 seconds. Next, carefully pour in almost all the remaining olive oil (reserve a little for later), stir well, and cook for another 30 seconds.

Add the pre-washed rice and sauté it along with the spices for 2–3 minutes. Then, pour in 2 cups of water and let it simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the rice is cooked al dente, add the cooked and drained lentils to the wok along with one-third of the caramelized onions (reserve the rest for serving). Gently mix everything together and let it simmer for another 5 minutes.

Drizzle the remaining olive oil evenly over the dish and gently stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

If you’re fasting, you can enjoy it as is, served with the reserved caramelized onions on top.

For those not fasting, this dish pairs wonderfully with a generous dollop of yogurt, either on top or alongside the caramelized onions.

It also works perfectly as a flavorful side dish for various meat preparations.

If you try the recipe, let me know how you liked it! 😊

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