Mejadra Recipe - Vegan Rice with Lentils and Fried Onions

This mejadra recipe (also known as mujaddara) is a humble dish but pure comfort food. It's simple in its preparation, inexpensive in its ingredients, but with very complex flavors, some very familiar to me (like rice and lentils), and some lovely spices (cumin and turmeric) to improve on some old favorites.

By Clara Gonzalez - Last revised Nov 9, 2023. Published Feb 6, 2015.

Why I ❤️ it Recipe Ingredients Video Preparation

Mejadra rice with lentils and onion.

Why I ❤️ it

The name of this tasty dish is mejadra, and is very popular in the Middle East, where I got to try it the first time. This rice with lentils and fried onions dish looks a lot like moro rice a dish that every Spanish Caribbean native or visitor knows.

The good thing is that all of its ingredients are available from any decent local supermarket, so you can make it and enjoy it without having to chase anything exotic or expensive.

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Utensils and tools

• Medium-sized dutch oven
• Small saucepan
• Paper towels

Ingredients

• 2 cups of dry brown lentils
• 5 large of red onions, 3 chopped into tiny pieces, 2 sliced into thin rings
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon of ground coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
• 2½ teaspoons of salt
• 1½ teaspoon of pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground), divided
• 2 cups of long-grain Carolina rice or Basmati
• 1 cup of sliced okra (optional)
• ¼ cup of boiled chickpeas, or from a can (optional)
• ¼ cup of vegetable oil, (corn, peanut, or sunflower oil)
• 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt, for the onion rings
• Cilantro, for garnishing

Video

Preparation

Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.

Step 1: Boil lentils

In a medium pot, boil the lentils in plenty of water (enough to cover it plus an inch [2.5 centimeters]), cooking over medium-high heat for 15 minutes, counting from when it starts to boil vigorously. Remove from the heat.

With a colander, separate lentils from the liquid. Set both aside, but keep the liquid simmering.

Step 2: Brown chopped onions

Heat the olive oil over low heat in a heavy skillet. Add the cumin turmeric, coriander seeds, cinnamon, salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper, and cook and stir for a minute to toast lightly.

Increase heat to medium and stir in the chopped onion (set aside the onion rings for later use) and continue cooking and stirring until they are cooked through and have a golden-brown color (but not burnt).

Step 3: Cook the rice

Add the rice and the boiled lentils, and stir, mixing until the grains are coated with oil. Add 3 cups of the liquid in which the lentils boiled (include water if you don't have enough of it).

Simmer until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring often to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom. Mix in okra and chickpeas. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and lower heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes.

Uncover the rice and stir; the rice should be cooked through but firm and with a little bite. If needed, cover and simmer for another 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.

Step 4: Season the onion rings

While the rice simmers, mix the flour and coarse salt, and coat the individual onion rings with it.

Step 5: Fry the onion rings

Heat the vegetable oil over high heat in a small saucepan. Lower a small batch of onions into the oil using a slotted spoon.

Fry the onions until they turn golden brown. Rest on a paper towel to absorb excess grease. Repeat with the rest of the onion rings until you have fried them all.

Step 6: Serve

Serve the rice on a shallow serving bowl or large flat plate, and garnish with fried onions sprinkled with plenty of black pepper (to taste) and cilantro.

Top tips

Mejadra is great for reheating next day if you have any leftovers (reheat in a pan with 2 tablespoons of water to rehydrate the rice). The fried onions, however, are better eaten freshly-fried.

Serving suggestions

You can also garnish with lemon wedges, or add some pomegranate seeds to it for extra fanciness.

Make a cucumber salad to go with it if you wish.

Variations

If you want to use brown rice, soak the rice for two hours before starting, and drain all water beforehand. You can use this water if you don't have enough from boiling the lentils.

To use basmati rice, substitute long grain rice for 2¼ cup basmati rice.

If you're looking for another vegan rice and lentils dish, you will love this Instant Pot kitchari, an Indian creamy yellow rice dish with lentils.

Inspiration

Claudia Roden, author of The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, writes: "[Mejadra] is such a favorite that, although it is said to be for misers, it is a compliment to serve it."

Clearly, there isn't just one recipe for mejadra. This recipe is a mixture of several recipes and ideas. The idea for the chickpea and okra addition came from a restaurant I visited in the Middle East, although theirs was different from mine. This mejadra recipe was also inspired by the recipes in the books Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi, and Fresh Flavors from Israel by Oliver, Pely-Bronshtein, and Lipa-Angel.

Nutritional information

Calories: 553kcal - Carbohydrates: 23g - Protein: 36g - Fat: 35g - Saturated Fat: 14g - Cholesterol: 116mg - Sodium: 1642mg - Potassium: 765mg - Fiber: 2g - Sugar: 13g - Vitamin A: 1030IU - Vitamin C: 9.1mg - Calcium: 587mg - Iron: 2.2mg

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