Mujadara is proof that you do not need meat, or much of anything fancy, to make a genuinely great dinner. It is a Levantine staple, lentils and rice cooked together and piled high with onions fried down until they are dark, sweet, and almost caramel-like, and it has been a Lenten and Friday table dish across the eastern Mediterranean for longer than almost anything else in that region’s kitchen.

The whole dish rises or falls on the onions; they are not a garnish here, they are the soul of the thing. You need patience, low heat, and a good half hour to coax them to a deep amber without burning them, and the oil left in the pan gets stirred right into the rice and lentils so nothing goes to waste.

It is a meatless dinner that even committed meat-eaters tend to love, usually served with a simple cucumber-tomato salad. Alongside Ful Medames (recipe on the site) and Fattoush (recipe on the site), mujadara rounds out a full Levantine spread.

Mujadara Recipe

What you need

Ingredients

1 cup brown or green lentils, rinsed
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed and drained
4 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
3/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Salt and black pepper, to taste
3 cups water, plus more for parboiling lentils
Plain yogurt or a simple tomato-cucumber salad, to serve

Cook along

Instructions

Place the lentils in a pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 12-15 minutes, until just tender but not mushy. Drain and set aside.
While the lentils cook, heat 1/2 cup of the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt.
Cook the onions slowly, stirring occasionally, for 30-35 minutes, until deeply browned and caramelized; lower the heat if they start to darken too fast. Work in two batches if your pan is crowded, so they crisp rather than steam.
Remove the onions with a slotted spoon onto paper towels, reserving the flavorful oil left in the pan.
In a heavy pot, heat the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil plus 3 tablespoons of the reserved onion oil. Add the cumin and coriander and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the parboiled lentils, rice, and the 3 cups water. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 18-20 minutes, until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.
Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
Fluff gently with a fork, transfer to a serving platter, and top generously with the crispy caramelized onions. Serve warm or at room temperature with yogurt or a tomato-cucumber salad.